Early Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Has an Advantage over Antecedent Drainage for Grade II/III Acute Cholecystitis

Early laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) after gallbladder drainage is recommended in cases with acute cholecystitis (AC); however, the safety of LC after gallbladder drainage is still controversial, and it is not clear whether the drainage contributes to prevent bile leakage during operative procedure. A single institutional retrospective cohort study was performed to assess the safety of LC after gallbladder drainage as well as the frequency of bile leakage during LC. Twenty-four patients that had gallbladder drainage (Drainage group) and 67 patients that had early LC (Early LC group) were treated for AC. Charlson comorbidity index was significantly higher in the Drainage group ( P = 0.015). Early LC group had a shorter operative time than Drainage group ( P = 0.020) and tend to have less bile leakage rate than Drainage group. In cases when the initial treatment was started within a day after the onset of symptom, no bile leakage was observed in either group. LC after gallbladder drainage can be performed safely; however, it does not reduce the bile leakage rate. Early laparoscopic cholecystectomy with immediate admission as possible might help to prevent the postoperative bile leakage.