Does Operative Time Affect Complication Rate in Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy.

Background: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the most common laparoscopic procedure performed in the United States. Our aim was to determine if increased operative time (OT) is associated with increased morbidity following laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Methods: Using ACS NSQIP from 2006 to 2015, we identified all adult (≥18 years) patients that underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy for cholecystitis performed within 3 days of admission. Our analysis was limited to cases with OT ≥15 minutes and ≤360 minutes. Outcome variables included postoperative surgical site infections (SSI), dehiscence, pneumonia, reintubation, failure to wean from ventilator, pulmonary embolism, renal failure, urinary tract infection, cardiac arrest, myocardial infarct, bleeding, deep vein thrombosis, sepsis, septic shock, return to the operating room, and death.

Results: 7,031 cases met inclusion criteria. Median OT was 63 minutes, first quartile was 46 minutes and third quartile was 87 minutes. Logistic regression analysis showed that increased OT (third vs first quartile) was an independent risk factor for superficial SSI (OR 1.75, 95% CI 1.36-2.25, < .0001), organ-space SSI (OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.33-2.35, < .0001), dehiscence (OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.01-4.07, = 0.0470), and septic shock (OR 1.81, 95% CI 1.06-3.09, = 0.0286). Increased OT was independently associated with increased LOS (fourth vs 1st quartile: IRR 1.53, < 0.0001; third vs 1st quartile: IRR 1.29, < .0001; 2nd vs 1st quartile: IRR 1.16, < 0.0001).

Conclusion: Increased OT is independently associated with morbidity and increased LOS following laparoscopic cholecystectomy for cholecystitis. Prospective studies are warranted to determine which factors contribute to increased OT and why.