ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to analyze the difference between Mini-Cholecystectomy (MC) and Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy (LC) in terms of feasibility and postoperative outcomes to determine if MC could be accepted as a good alternative procedure to LC. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective comparative study of 206 consecutively operated patients of chronic cholecystitis (138 LC and 68 MC), in Al-Jalaa, Ajdabiya and Almrg Teaching hospitals between January 2014 and December 2015 was performed. All cases within the two groups were balanced for age, sex, co-morbidities, ultrasound and intraoperative findings. Exclusion criteria were acute cholecystitis, preoperative jaundice, liver cirrhosis, suspicion of malignancy, previous upper abdominal surgery and pregnancy. RESULTS: Mean age of the patients in the study was around 37 years. Female patients represented 88.84%. Intraoperative complications occurred in about 2% of the patients with bleeding in three cases (one in MC, two in LC) and injury to the bile ducts occurred in one case who underwent LC. Operative duration was longer in LC (mean values 64 minutes for LC and 45 minutes for MC). Rate of conversion to classical cholecystectomy in LC was 5% while it was 0% in MC. Only one case of wound infection was registered in the LC group. Postoperative hospital stay was insignificantly longer for LC versus MC (1.97 days for MC and 2.63 days for LC). CONCLUSION: Mini-cholecystectomy is a feasible technique, which can be considered as a good alternative method for gallbladder removal for surgeons who have no experience with laparoscopic techniques and in peripheral hospitals where LC is not available.
