title: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy in adult patients with sickle cell disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A gallstone is a common disease in sickle cell disease (SCD) patients, and cholecystectomy is the most common surgical procedure performed in patients with SCD. We conducted this study to determine the outcome of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) as the standard surgical treatment for gallstones in adult patients with sickle cell anemia over a long period.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data of all the SCD patients who were operated between April 1994 and December 2008 were collected retrospectively. We analyzed data including age, sex, mode of admission (elective or emergency), indication for LC (chronic or acute cholecystitis), operation time, length of hospital stay, and complications.
  
  
  RESULTS
  : During 1994 to 2008, there were 6014 patients who underwent LC; of those, 496 (8.25%) patients were SCD patients. The results showed significant differences in the outcome, operative time, hospital stay, and complication rate between 1994 and 2008.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  LC is a safe procedure in sickle cell patients with a low morbidity rate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Medical College, King Faisal University, Hofuf, Al-Hassa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. abdu3939@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Abdulrahman S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Al-Mulhim
authors.forename: Mohammed H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Alshehri
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000150:complications*; D002648:Child; D017081:Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic / Q000379:methods*; D002769:Cholelithiasis / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000639:trends; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult