Pulmonary function after cholecystectomy performed through Kocher's incision, a mini-incision, and laparoscopy. Comparison of postoperative pulmonary function tests after cholecystectomy performed through Kocher's incision and mini-incision. Minicholecystectomy vs conventional cholecystectomy: a prospective randomized trial--implications in the laparoscopic era. Mini-lap cholecystectomy--an attractive alternative to conventional cholecystectomy. Randomized clinical trial of conventional cholecystectomy versus minicholecystectomy. Patient recovery following cholecystectomy through a 6 cm or 15 cm transverse subcostal incision: a prospective randomized clinical trial.
Comparative pulmonary function after cholecystectomy performed through Kocher's incision, a mini-incision, and laparoscopy was evaluated. Forty-five patients were randomly and prospectively divided into three groups of 15 each, depending on the surgical access employed. Forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume at 1 second (FEV1), and forced expiratory flow at 25% to 75% (FEF25-75%) were determined 1 to 3 days before and 16 to 24 hours after cholecystectomy. The percent reduction of FVC (p = 0.0170), FEV1 (p = 0.0191), and FEF25-75% (p = 0.0045) was smaller after laparoscopic cholecystectomy than after Kocher's incision cholecystectomy. The percent reduction of FVC (p = 0.0170) was smaller after mini-incision cholecystectomy than after Kocher's incision cholecystectomy. There was no difference in the FEV1 (p = 0.0971) or FEF25-75% (p = 0.2058) between these two groups. FEF25-75% was significantly less impaired in the laparoscopic group than in the mini-incision group (p = 0.0327). No difference between these two groups was found in FVC (p = 0.5755) or FEV1 (p = 0.3952). It is concluded that postoperative pulmonary function is less impaired after laparoscopic cholecystectomy than after either mini-incision or Kocher's incision cholecystectomy. Comparative pulmonary function after cholecystectomy performed through Kocher's incision and mini-incision were evaluated. One hundred patients were included and systematically divided into two groups of 50 each. The first group underwent conventional cholecystectomy and the second group underwent mini-cholecystectomy. Vital capacity (VC), forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume at 1 second (FEV1), and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) were determined on the preoperative day and on postoperative days 1, 2, and 3. The percentage of reduction of VC on postoperative day 1 (P < 0.01), 2 (P < 0.01), and 3 (P < 0.01) after Kocher's incision was more than the percentage of reduction after mini-incisions on the corresponding day, respectively (P < 0.01, P < 0.01, and P < 0.01). The percentage of reduction of FVC (P = 0.0001, 0.0001, and 0.0001) was lesser after mini-incision cholecystectomy than after Kocher's incision cholecystectomy on the three corresponding postoperative days. The percentage of reduction of FEV1 after mini-incision was lesser than after Kocher's incision cholecystectomy on the three corresponding postoperative days (P = 0.001, 0.000, and 0.000). There was no significant difference in PEFR between the two groups on the three corresponding postoperative days (P = 0.731, 0.652, and 0.393). It is observed that min-incision cholecystectomy is followed by superior postoperative pulmonary function to that seen after Kocher's incision. The objective of this study was to compare results of elective "open" conventional cholecystectomy (CC) to those of minicholecystectomy (MC). A clinical prospective, randomized trial was designed. The setting was an academic general surgical unit. In the CC group were 26 patients; in the MC group were 24 patients. In the CC group a conventional open cholecystectomy was performed through a subcostal incision; in the MC group operation through an initial 5-cm subcostal incision was done. Mean length of wound was 14.4 cm and 5.4 cm in the two groups, respectively (p < 0.001). Mean operative time was 60 and 59 minutes, respectively. Mean operative difficulty, estimated on a 1-10 scale, was 3.4 and 5.6, respectively (p < 0.05). Mean postoperative analgesia requirements (number of doses of 10 mg morphine sulphate) were 5.8 and 4.0, respectively (p = 0.002). Mean duration of hospitalization was 4.7 and 3.0 days, respectively (p < 0.001). Mean "overall patient satisfaction," estimated on 1-10 scale, was 6 and 8.3, respectively (p = 0.002). We conclude that Minicholecystectomy offers less pain, earlier recovery, and better cosmetic results than the conventional "open" procedure. Published results of MC compare favorably with those of laparoscopic procedures. The implications of these results in the "laparoscopic era" are discussed. A prospective study was conducted to determine the safety and efficacy of cholecystectomy through a 5 cm transverse abdominal incision. 181 consecutive patients who underwent elective cholecystectomy for symptomatic gall stone disease in a single surgical unit at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi between December 1990 to February 1992, were prospectively randomized into 5 cm transverse and midline incision groups. Operative time, blood loss, post-operative stay and complications were compared in the two groups. Ninety seven patients were included in the transverse incision group and 84 patients in the midline group. Cholecystectomy could be safely performed through a 5 cm transverse incision in 84 patients (86.8%) without increase in operative complications, morbidity or mortality. In another 84 patients cholecystectomy was performed through a midline incision. The average operating time and blood loss were comparable in both groups. The average post-operative stay in 5 cm transverse incision group was 2.6 days (range 1-4 days) and in the midline group was 4.0 days (range 3-5 days). There were 7 post-operative complications (all wound infections) in the 5 cm transverse group and 12 post-operative complications (10 wound infections and 2 pneumonitis) in the midline group. However, the difference in wound infection rate was not statistically significant (p > 0.1). In Conclusion, Cholecystectomy can be safely performed through a 5 cm transverse incision. The main argument for laparoscopic cholecystectomy in preference to open cholecystectomy appears to be based on less traumatic incisions inflicted on the abdominal wall. To investigate the effects of different incision lengths on patients following elective open cholecystectomy, a randomized clinical study was conducted.
                In this study 130 patients were randomly assigned to undergo either open cholecystectomy through a transverse subcostal incision of mean length 5.8 cm, so called minicholecystectomy (65 patients), or to undergo conventional cholecystectomy through a paracostal incision of mean length 13.1 cm (65 patients). The perception of pain after operation was measured by a visual analogue scale. To register late complications the mean(s.d.) hospitalization period after operation was extended to 11.5(1.2) days in the minicholecystectomy group and 15.4(2.5) days in the conventional cholecystectomy group.
                The perceived pain and analgesic requirements were found to be similar in both groups. Twelve of 65 patients in the minicholecystectomy group and four of 65 in the conventional cholecystectomy group developed wound haematoma.
                On the basis of this prospective randomized study, the hypothesis that a smaller incision length on the abdominal wall could lower the level of perceived pain, and therefore decrease the postoperative analgesic intake after minicholecystectomy, could not be confirmed. The effect of incision length on patient recovery following cholecystectomy has not been investigated previously. In this study, 30 patients with symptomatic gallstones were randomized to cholecystectomy through a 6 cm or 15 cm transverse subcostal incision. Postoperative hospital stay was significantly shorter in the 6 cm incision group (median 3 days vs 5 days; P = 0.0069 Mann-Whitney U-test). In the 6 cm group analgesic requirements were reduced (median 2.5 vs 4.5 intramuscular opiate injections per patient) and recovery of depressed postoperative pulmonary function (FVC and FEV1) was faster (3% difference between groups on day 1 and 7% on day 3), although these differences did not achieve statistical significance. These results suggest that the length of incision may influence patient recovery following elective cholecystectomy. This has important implications as surgery carried out through shorter and less traumatic incisions may offer a cost-effective alternative to laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Moreover, some surgeons may find mini-laparotomy cholecystectomy easier to adopt than laparoscopic techniques.
Small-incision and open cholecystectomy seem to be equivalent regarding risks of complications, but the latter method is associated with a significantly longer hospital stay. The quicker recovery of small-incision cholecystectomy compared with open cholecystectomy confirms the existing preference of this technique over open cholecystectomy.