title: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the obese patient.
abstract: The authors' experience with laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) in obese (O, n = 96) and morbidly obese (MO, n = 27) patient groups was compared with that in the normal weight (NW, n = 174) group of patients as well as the whole group (WG). There were no operative deaths. There were no significant differences between groups for any of the following: successful intraoperative cholangiography (WG, 52.2%; NW, 52.9%; O, 51.1%; MO, 55.6%), conversion to open cholecystectomy (WG, 9.6%; NW, 9.2%; O, 10.4%; MO, 11.1%), incidence of major complications (WG, 4.1%; NW, 3.4%, O, 5.2%; MO, 0%), incidence of minor complications (WG, 7.4%, NW, 7.5%; O, 6.3%; MO, 3.7%), and length of hospitalization after successful LC (WG, 1.25 days; NW, 1.31 days; O, 1.16 days; MO, 1.13 days). Duration of operation did not differ except LC in the MO group (136.4 +/- 6.9 minutes) was longer when compared with NW patients (123.0 +/- 2.9 minutes, p less than 0.05). The authors conclude LC is a safe and effective treatment for obese patients with symptomatic cholelithiasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, Charlottesville 22908.
authors.forename: B D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Schirmer
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dix
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Edge
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hyser
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Hanks
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aguilar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002758:Cholangiography; D002763:Cholecystectomy / Q000379:methods*; D002769:Cholelithiasis / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D000075202:Contraindications; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007430:Intraoperative Care; D010535:Laparoscopy; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications*; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000150:complications*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies