Application of 3-Step Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy in Acute Difficult Cholecystitis.

Background: With the aging of the global population, the incidence rate of acute cholecystitis is increasing. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is considered as the first choice to treat acute cholecystitis. How to effectively avoid serious intraoperative complications such as bile duct and blood vessel injury is still a difficult problem that puzzles surgeons. This paper introduces the application of laparoscopic cholecystectomy, a new surgical concept, in acute difficult cholecystitis.

Methods: This retrospective analysis was carried out from January 2019 to January 2021. A total of 36 patients with acute difficult cholecystitis underwent 3-step laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The general information, clinical features, surgical methods, surgical results, and postoperative complications of the patients were analyzed.

Results: All patients successfully completed the surgery, one of them was converted to laparotomy, and the other 35 cases were treated with 3-step laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Postoperative bile leakage occurred in 2 cases (5.56%), secondary choledocholithiasis in 1 case (2.78%), and hepatic effusion in 1 case (2.78%). No postoperative bleeding, septal infection, and other complications occurred, and no postoperative colon injury, gastroduodenal injury, liver injury, bile duct injury, vascular injury, and other surgery-related complications occurred. All 36 patients were discharged from hospital after successful recovery. No one died 30 days after surgery, and there was no abnormality in outpatient follow-up for 3 months after surgery.

Conclusions: Three-step laparoscopic cholecystectomy seems to be safer and more feasible for acute difficult cholecystitis patients. Compared with traditional laparoscopic cholecystectomy or partial cholecystectomy, 3-step laparoscopic cholecystectomy has the advantages of safe surgery and less complications, which is worth trying by clinicians.