[Laparoscopic cholecystectomy].
The appropriateness of a laparoscopic approach to cholecystectomy in community hospital settings has been questioned. To address this issue a prospective study of outcomes of laparoscopic cholecystectomies performed during a three year period at Telemark Community Hospital was undertaken. There were 229 procedures performed by five surgeons. 24 (10.5%) of the attempted laparoscopic cholecystectomies were converted to open cholecystectomies. The average hospital stay after laparoscopic cholecystectomy was 3.0 days (SD = 2.6). Minor intraoperative complications (gall bladder perforation, gall bladder bed bleeding) occurred in 43% of the laparoscopic procedures. There were nine cases (4.4%) of major intraoperative complications which included laceration of the common bile duct (n = 4, one discovered during surgery), ileal perforation (n = 1) and laceration of the liver (n = 4). The frequency of postoperative complications after laparoscopic cholecystectomy was 8.8%. Bile peritonitis was observed in three patients, of whom one died. There were no significant differences in intra- and postoperative complications between the surgeons performing the operations. The present results support the argument that laparoscopic cholecystectomies can be performed safely and effectively in community hospitals.