Laparoscopic versus mini-lap cholecystectomy for gallstone disease.

AIM To compare the outcome of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) and mini-lap cholecystectomy (MC) in patients with symptomatic gallstone disease. METHOD One hundred patients undergoing LC (50) or MC (50) were evaluated for duration of surgery, morbidity, need for analgesia, duration of hospitalization and interval to return to normal work. RESULTS The mean operative time was significantly longer in the LC group (94 +/- 17 vs 129 +/- 33 min; p < 0.05). The rate of morbidity and conversion to open surgery were similar in the two groups. Patients in the MC group required more oral analgesia (p = ns). The mean post-operative hospital stay in this group was 3.3 +/- 1.5 days as compared to 3.3 +/- 2.7 days in the LC group (p = ns). Patients in the LC group took the same time to return to normal work (19.1 +/- 3.2 days) as those in the MC group 19.5 +/- 5.4 days (p = ns). CONCLUSION MC and LC are comparable procedures for treatment of gallstone disease in our country.