Laparoscopic cholecystectomy in 2,750 cases in a teaching hospital in Kuwait.

OBJECTIVE To retrospectively analyse all laparoscopic cholecystectomies performed between April 1992 and May 1999. METHODS Medical records of 2,750 patients, clinically diagnosed with gall bladder disease, were reviewed. We analysed the operative time, length of postoperative hospital stay, conversion rate, intra- and postoperative complications as well as management outcome. RESULTS The mean operative time was 59.2 min, and the mean postoperative hospital stay was 1.46 days. However, the majority of our patients (66.8%) were discharged after 1 day. The conversion rate was 3.8%, which was mainly due to acute gall bladder pathology. The postoperative complication rate was 4.6%; all cases were managed successfully with no mortality or delayed morbidity. CONCLUSION Our findings indicate that laparoscopic cholecystectomy appears to be a safe and effective procedure with low morbidity and no mortality. Therefore, it should be considered as the procedure of choice for patients with gall bladder disease.