Day-case laparoscopic cholecystectomy: results of 211 consecutive patients

Objectives - The purpose of this work was to evaluate the feasibility and outcome of elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy as a daycase procedure in a French university hospital. Methods - Since the creation of a surgical day-care centre in 1999, patients without severe chronic disease and anticoagulant therapy were selected for elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy. They were admitted and operated on in the morning hours and discharged after a double check by the surgeon and an anaesthetist 4 to 6 hours later. They were contacted by telephone the day subsequent to surgery and were seen in the outpatient unit 8 to 10 days after. Results - Two hundred eleven laparoscopic cholecystectomies were performed in day-care surgery from January 1999 to December 2005. The proportion of day-case management increased during the six-year period from 32% to 53%. Eighteen percent of patients had an overnight admission. The overall complication rate was 1.8%. None of the patients had an emergency readmission. Incapacity duration went from 1 to 15 days. Conclusion - These results suggest that laparoscopic cholecystectomy can be routinely performed as a day-case procedure.