Minilaparotomy Cholecystectomy: A Forgotten Art in Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Era (Our Experience from a Peripheral Hospital in North India)

Background: This study aimed to report the experience of performing minilaparotomy cholecystectomy in a peripheral hospital by a single surgeon. Methods: Data collected from 50 consecutive patients undergoing minilaparotomy cholecystectomy by a single surgeon over 18 months at a peripheral hospital were reviewed and studied. The recorded data encompassed demographics, operating time, incision size, conversion rate to open cholecystectomy, perioperative complications, and hospital stay duration. Results: Fifty consecutive patients, who underwent minilaparotomy cholecystectomy for symptomatic cholelithiasis, were studied, among whom 48 patients were females. The participants’ mean age was 45 years. The length of the surgical incision was 4.5 - 6 cm, and only three patients required conversion to open cholecystectomy. The average operating time was 60 minutes; and the average postoperative hospital stay was 2.14 days. Conclusions: Minilaparotomy cholecystectomy is comparable with laparoscopic cholecystectomy in terms of postoperative morbidity, and it is ideal for peripheral hospitals lacking laparoscopic facilities.

Postoperative analgesic efficacy of the thoracoabdominal nerves block through perichondrial approach (TAPA) and modified-TAPA for laparoscopic cholecystectomy: a randomized controlled study

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is one of the most common surgical procedures. Even though there is less postoperative pain with laparoscopic cholecystectomy than with open cholecystectomy, severe pain can occur, particularly within the first 24 hours. Evaluation of the efficacy of ultrasound-guided interfascial plane blocks for postoperative analgesia of laparoscopic cholecystectomy has recently come to prominence. The aim of our study was to compare the postoperative analgesic efficacy of thoracoabdominal nerves block through perichondrial approach (TAPA) and modified-TAPA (m-TAPA) blocks in patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The present study included 56 patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy under general anesthesia and received TAPA or m-TAPA block for perioperative analgesia. Each patient signed a written informed consent form. Block times and numerical rating scale (NRS) scores 1, 2, 3, and 12 hours postoperatively, hourly and total tramadol amount of use via the patient-controlled analgesia device, and additional analgesic drug consumption were all recorded. The TAPA group had significantly longer block application times than the m-TAPA group. At 1 and 12 hours, NRS scores were lower in the TAPA group. However, the mean NRS scores, total tramadol use, and use of additional analgesics were comparable between the groups. TAPA and m-TAPA block methods reduced NRS scores by alleviating pain after laparoscopic cholecystectomy procedures, thereby reducing the need for additional analgesics. Block times for TAPA were significantly longer than those for m-TAPA. However, both block applications were completed in a short period, smoothly and safely. The analgesic effect of TAPA block was more distinctive at 1 and 12 hours, and NRS scores were lower. However, we think that both block methods, when used under ultrasound guidance, will provide effective analgesia by supplementing the multimodal analgesia planned for laparoscopic cholecystectomy and other abdominal operations.

Outcome of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in terms of intraoperative complications in a tertiary care hospital.

Objectives: The main objective was to evaluate the outcome of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in terms of intra-operative complications and the rate and reasons of conversion to open cholecystectomy. Study Design: Descriptive Study. Setting: Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar. Period: June 2018 to May 2019. Material & Methods: After taking consent of Hospital ethical & research committee, patients admitted with clinical diagnosis of cholelithiasis and chronic cholecystitis, confirmed by abdominal ultrasound, undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy fulfilling inclusion criteria were selected. Results: A total of 150 were included in the study. Mean age was 39.2yrs with female to male ratio of 9.75:1. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy was successfully accomplished in 98% cases. In 2% (3 patients) converted cases the most common cause of conversion observed was dense adhesions in the calots triangle. Intra-operative complications were noted in 1.4% patients, those included bile duct injury and leakage from the gallbladder bed. However other complications such as bowel injury, blood vessel injury, and post operative hemorrhage did not occur. Overall morbidity was 1.4% with no mortality. Conclusion: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a safe and effective procedure in our setup to the accepted standards, as evident by the national and international studies. And it can be accomplished with minimal morbidity and low rate of conversion with the increasing surgeon’s experience.

Intraoperative scoring system for grading severity of cholecystitis at laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background: Various studies had been carried out to evaluate the risk of preoperative conversion in laparoscopic cholecystectomy. However, there was no grading or scoring of operative findings during surgery at present, making it difficult to compare the publications citing outcomes, including the conversion to open surgery. Sugrue in 2015 devised a scoring system based upon the intraoperative findings in Laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Aim of the study was to grade the severity of cholecystitis during laparoscopic cholecystectomy using intraoperative scoring system, to evaluate the spectrum of cholecystitis in cases of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a tertiary center using the grades of intraoperative scores and to validate the scoring system devised by Michael Sugrue.Methods: This prospective cross sectional observatory study of 200 patients admitted for laparoscopic cholecystectomy was conducted in the Department of Surgery, Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India over a period of 12 months. All patients directly planned for open cholecystectomy and carcinoma gall bladder were excluded from the study. Patients were subjected to the intra operative grading system for cholecystitis severity as devised by Micheal Sugrue and the grades were classified with a score of <2 - mild; 2 to 4 -moderate, 5– 7- severe and 8 to 10 – extreme.Results: The operative grading system showed a positive correlation with the severity of cholecystitis.Conclusions: Use of this intra-operative scoring system will help us to provide a trigger for a prompt early conversion to avoid intra-operative complications associated with difficult laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Muscle-splitting mini-incision cholecystectomy under spinal anesthesia: cost-effective equitable minimally invasive surgery in laparoscopy era

Introduction: Conventional open cholecystectomy has been increasingly replaced by laparoscopy which requires resources for expensive equipment, training, and maintenance. Muscle-splitting mini-incision cholecystectomy under spinal anesthesia has comparable outcomes to laparoscopy and requires fewer resources. This study analyzes the feasibility and outcome of muscle-splitting mini-incision cholecystectomy under spinal anesthesia. Methods: All consecutive cases of muscle-splitting mini-incision cholecystectomy (MC) performed for symptomatic cholelithiasis during three years ending in December 2019, at a periphery hospital in Janakpur, province-2, Nepal, were included. Complicated cholelithiasis (biliary pancreatitis, jaundice, cholangitis, dilated common bile duct) was excluded. Written informed consents were obtained. The need for general anesthesia, complications during and after surgery, and patient satisfaction were analyzed descriptively. Ethical approval was obtained. Results: Out of 148 MC completed under spinal anesthesia, six (4.1%) required fentanyl for shoulder discomfort. Mild post-operative pain was reported by 124 (83.8%) at six hours and 146 (98.6%) at 12 hours. The intravenous drip was stopped after surgery and oral liquid with analgesics started in two hours in 143 patients (96.6%). Post-operative antibiotic was given in nine, for 2(1.4%) cholecysto-duodenal fistulas, 4(2.7%) diabetics, and 3(2%) mucoceles. The mean hospital stay was one night. Wound complications occurred in 6(2.8%). Overall, 144 (97.3%) were satisfied and would recommend the procedure to others. Histopathology revealed adenocarcinoma in one case. There was no bile-duct injury, re-surgery, or mortality. Conclusion: Muscle-splitting mini-incision open cholecystectomy (MC) under spinal anesthesia is safe and effective with early feeding, short hospital stays, less demand for resources, and good patient satisfaction.

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy during COVID-19 pandemic- Retrospective analysis of tertiary care centre

INTRODUCTION: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the most commonly performed general surgical procedure. During the COVID-19 pandemic, general recommendation worldwide is to postpone elective surgeries as far as possible to decrease the resource utilization and also aerosol-related transmission among hospital staff and patients. We conducted this study to see the burden of gallbladder disease, their management and outcomes of all patients who presented to our centre during first wave of COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of all patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy at the Hospital for Advanced Medicine and Surgery (HAMS) after the commencement of strict lockdown in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ethical approval for the study was taken from Nepal Health Research Council. All the surgeries were performed as per HAMS interim policy for infection prevention and control during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were extracted from the discharge sheet and outcomes in terms of duration of hospitalization, morbidity, mortality, and COVID -19 infection among patient and operating team staff after surgery were assessed. RESULTS: Out of 110 cases operated for gallbladder disease, 90 patients were included in the study with complete data. The most common presentations were dyspepsia (28) and biliary colic (22). Patients were managed with laparoscopic cholecystectomy (79), percutaneous cholecystostomy (4), laparoscopic subtotal cholecystectomy (5), open cholecystectomy (1). The median duration of hospitalization 22 hours. There was no COVID-19 transmission among staff and patients. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic cholecystectomies are feasible during COVID-19 pandemic and safely performed following infection prevention guidelines. It can be still be performed in day case basis to decrease the bed occupancy and avoiding crowd in hospitals.

Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy for Large/Giant Gallstones: Case Report and Brief Review of Literature

Gallstones disease are the most common biliary pathology. Its prevalence in Nepal is found to be 4.87%. Giant/large gallstones have a higher risk of complications and presents technical difficulties during laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Open cholecystectomy is preferred in most of the cases with giant gallstones. With the availability of experience laparoscopic surgeon and modern laparoscopic equipment, laparoscopic cholecystectomy is also feasible in large/giant gallstones. We report 2 cases, one large gallstone in 51 years old female and one giant gallstone in 39 years old female each of which were successfully managed laparoscopically with uneventful post-operative period.

Laparoscopic surgery produced less surgical smoke and contamination comparing with open surgery: the pilot study in fresh cadaveric experiment in COVID-19 pandemic

Background The SARS-CoV2 virus has been identified in abdominal cavity of the COVID-19 patients. Therefore, the potential viral transmission from any surgical created smoke in these patients is of concern especially in laparoscopic surgery. This study aimed to compare the amount of surgical smoke and surgical field contamination between laparoscopic and open surgery in fresh cadavers. Methods Cholecystectomy in 12 cadavers was performed and they were divided into 4 groups: laparoscopic approach with or without smoke evacuator, and open approach with or without smoke evacuator. The increased particle counts in surgical smoke of each group were analyzed. In the model of appendectomy, surgical field contamination under ultraviolet light and visual contamination scale between laparoscopic and open approach were compared. Results Open cholecystectomy significantly produced a greater amount of overall particle sizes, particle sizes < 5 μm and particle sizes ≥ 5 μm than laparoscopic cholecystectomy (10,307 × 103 vs 3738 × 103, 10,226 × 103 vs 3685 × 103 and 81 × 103 vs 53 × 103 count/m3, respectively at p < 0.05). The use of smoke evacuator led to decrease in the amount of overall particle sizes of 58% and 32.4% in the open and laparoscopic chelecystectomy respectively. Median (interquatile range) visual contamination scale of surgical field in open appendectomy [3.50 (2.33, 4.67)] was significantly greater than laparoscopic appendectomy [1.50 (0.67, 2.33)] at p < 0.001. Conclusions Laparoscopic cholecystectomy yielded less smoke-related particles than open cholecystectomy. The use of smoke evacuator, abeit non-significantly, reduced the particles in both open and laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Laparoscopic appendectomy had a lower degree of surgical field contamination than the open approach.

P-EGS22 Emergency cholecystectomy: A comparative study of patient outcomes during COVID-19 pandemic with pre-COVID-19 period

Background Emergency cholecystectomy is recommended for all acute admissions with symptomatic gall stones. The Royal College of Surgeons and AUGIS on 25th March 2020 recommended that all laparoscopic procedures should be avoided during the COVID-19 pandemic with the view to minimise the risk of virus transmission from aerosol-generating procedures. This retrospective study compares the outcomes of patients undergoing emergency cholecystectomy during the COVID-19 period with the pre-COVID-19 period. Methods All patients who underwent emergency cholecystectomy (EC) from March 2019 to March 2021 were included. ‘Pre-COVID-19’ period was defined as 25th March 2019 to 24th March 2020, whereas the ‘COVID-19’ period was from 25th March 2020 to 24th March 2021. Mortality was considered as the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes include the 30-day postoperative complications based on the Calvien-Dindo classification (CDC) and the length of stay (LOS). Mortality and postoperative complications were assessed using the Chi-squared test, whilst LOS was studied using the Mann-Whitney U test. A p-value of &lt; 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results A total of 143patients underwent EC during the 24-month study period (75patients pre-COVID-19 and 68patients during COVID-19). The 30-day mortality was nil. 9patients;12% in pre-COVID-19 period and 11patients;16% in COVID-19 period underwent conversion to open cholecystectomy (p = 0.47). 18patients;24% from pre-COVID-19 and 19patients;27.9% from COVID-19 periods developed postoperative complications (p = 0.59). Grade-2-CDC complications were seen in 12patients;17.6% during COVID-19 period and 5patients;6.7% in pre-COVID-19 period (p = 0.0043). However, grade-3,4 CDC complications requiring intervention (p = 0.39), and ICU-admission (p = 0.62) were comparable in both periods. 1patient developed COVID-19 infection but made a full recovery. Mean LOS was 6-days in both periods, with no statistical difference (p = 0.28). Conclusions This study demonstrated no significant difference in patient outcomes who underwent emergency cholecystectomy during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-COVID-19 period. Emergency cholecystectomy should be offered to all surgically fit patients with symptomatic gall stones.

Laparoscopic remnant cholecystectomy for calculi in the remnant gallbladder following subtotal-cholecystectomy: a report of two cases

Two cases of laparoscopic remnant cholecystectomy using near-infrared fluorescence cholangiography (NIFC) for remnant gallbladder calculi following subtotal-cholecystectomy are reported. Case 1: a 36-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with acute abdomen. Computed tomography showed remnant gallbladder calculi, with detected no other findings as the cause of the abdominal pain. For intraoperative exploration of the biliary anatomy, 0.25 mg/kg of indocyanine green (ICG) was administered intravenously the day before the operation. NIFC clearly showed the common bile duct and enabled safe laparoscopic remnant cholecystectomy. She was free from symptoms after the operation. Case 2: a 40-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with epigastralgia due to remnant gallbladder calculi after open cholecystectomy. ICG was administered intravenously the day before the operation. Severe adhesions were observed in the upper abdominal cavity and there was tight adherence of the duodenum to the remnant gallbladder. NIFC showed a clear margin that appeared to be the margin between the duodenum and remnant gallbladder. However, dissection of the margin observed by NIFC caused perforation of the duodenum. The clear margin seen with NIFC was likely due to visualization of the gallbladder through the duodenum. Although NIFC is a useful modality for confirming the intraoperative biliary anatomy, it is important not to rely too heavily on NIFC alone, which may lead to misinterpretation of the anatomy.