Cholecystectomy: to drain or not to drain. A randomized prospective study of 200 patients.

During the 24-month period commencing January 1975, 200 patients underwent elective cholecystectomy for chronic cholecystitis. According to a prospective randomized protocol, 100 patients were drained and an identical number were not drained. The two groups were similar with respect to age, weight, diabetic history, and all other measured clinical parameters.Patients who were not drained had less postoperative fever in terms of actual temperature elevation and duration of fever and were discharged from the hospital earlier. There was no difference in the incidence of wound infection or other complications between the two groups.This study confirms that elective cholecystectomy without drainage of the subhepatic space can be done safely and that less postoperative fever and shorter hospitalization can be expected.