Stratification for elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background: In a former retrospective study in our clinic, an improvement in patient care was observed after the introduction of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The aim of this study was to verify whether this improvement could be maintained or even be further improved.Methods: Retrospective evaluation of all patients who underwent an elective cholecystectomy due to symptomatic cholelithiasis. We compared the results of 1992, the year of the introduction of laparoscopic cholecystectomy with 1993, the year that laparoscopic cholecystectomy became standard procedure. Also we compared specialized with general surgeons.Results: In comparison with 1992 more elective cholecystectomies were performed in 1993 (162 vs 211). In 1993 there were more primary laparoscopic procedures (86 vs 93%) but due to an increase in conversion rate in 1993 (2.5 vs 10%) the overall number of open procedures remained comparable (17 vs 16%). In 1993 there was an increase in cholecystectomies by general surgeons (56 vs 72%). The general surgeons almost doubled their conversion rate in 1993 (6 vs 13%) while that of the specialized surgeons remained comparable (0 vs 2%). Morbidity and mortality remained comparable between 1992 and 1993 and between specialized and general surgeons.Conclusions: The quality of patient care has not significantly been altered. An improvement could be made if more laparoscopic operations were performed by specialized surgeons, but this would negatively interfere with the working methods of a general hospital. Therefore we suggest stratification: Certain patients, as high-risk patients, preferably should be operated on by specialized surgeons, while routine operations could be performed by general surgeons.