title: Outpatient laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
abstract: Outpatient Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy was attempted in 98 patients selected from 266 patients presenting for elective cholecystectomy (37%). Two patients required admission following conversion to "open" Cholecystectomy, one patient was admitted for observation because of a technically difficult Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy and 16 patients were admitted because of refractory nausea and vomiting in the early post-operative period. Seventy-nine patients (81%) were able to be discharged home within 4 to 6 hours of surgery, with only one patient requiring readmission to hospital because of the onset of nausea and vomiting. There were no post-operative complications attributable to the outpatient experience. We believe this approach to elective gallbladder pathology can be safely accomplished in selected patients and will be increasingly utilized in the future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Queens University, Kingston General Hospital, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kolyn
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pace
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures; D002763:Cholecystectomy; D017081:Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications