Loading...
Traditionally, surgeons have waited several days before performing cholecystectomy in patients who experience mild gallstone pancreatitis. However, in a 50-patient randomized trial, UCLA researchers demonstrated that such patients can undergo cholecystectomy safely during the first 48 hours of hospitalization (JW Gen Med Apr 16 2010). Now, the same research group has performed a retrospective study of surgery timing in 303 patients with mild gallstone pancreatitis at two medical centers. Patients with suspected cholangitis, marked dehydration, or evidence of persistent common bile duct stones were excluded.
Thirty-nine percent of patients underwent early laparoscopic cholecystectomy (within 48 hours of admission); their characteristics were …