Emergency versus elective cholecystectomy: Experience at a university hospital in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia.

Background: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC), the procedure of choice for treating most gallbladder pathology, has become the most trusted elective procedure for treating gallstone disease because of its effectiveness and safety. While the timing is an important factor in those cases, our aim in this study was to compare emergency and elective LC, determine the differences in postoperative complications, and assess the conversion rate to open cholecystectomy.

Materials And Methods: This study included a total of 627 patients who had undergone laparoscopic cholecystectomy during 2017-2019 at King Fahd Hospital of the University (KFHU).