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Abstract

Objective:
To compare the outcomes of early versus delayed Laparoscopic cholecystectomy in patients with acute gallstone pancreatitis.
Methods:
We included 60 patients of acute biliary pancreatitis caused by gallstones planned for laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the General Surgery unit, Quaid-E-Azam Medical College/ Bahawal Victoria Hospital, Bahawalpur. The patients were included from January-2025 to March-2025. The patients were categorized into two distinct groups. The early cholecystectomy (EC) group and the delayed cholecystectomy (DC) group. For every patient, both the duration of the surgical procedure, the length of hospital stay and recurrence were recorded.
Results:
The EC Group (N=30) had an average age of 48.63 years (±10.12), while the DC Group (N=30) had an average age of 46.84 years (±13.22) [p-value 0.57]. The operative time for the EC Group averaged 84.23 (±6.79) minutes, while the DC Group had an average operative time of 85.36 (±9.34) minutes, (p-value 0.61). In terms of hospital stay, the EC Group spent an average of 4.23 (±1.23) days, whereas the DC Group had a longer average hospital stay of 5.51 (±1.17) days, with a p-value <0.0001. Additionally, the recurrence rates were 2 cases (6.67%) for the EC Group and 1 case (3.33%) for the DC Group, with a p-value of 1.0.
Conclusion:
Early cholecystectomy leads to quicker hospital discharges and is equally safe as delayed procedures. Therefore, it can be safely conducted in patients suffering from acute gallstone pancreatitis.