Comparative outcomes of Laparoscopic vs. open cholecystectomy in acute cholecystitis patients
1Dr Fida Hussain, 2Dr Zubair Ahmad, 3Mobeen Ali, 4Dr Shakeel Ahmed, 5Dr Muhammad Ali, 6Dr Muharram Ali
Submission: 14 January 2026 | Acceptance: 16 February 2026 | Publication: 11 March 2026,
1Chief Surgeon Allama Iqbal Teaching Hospital D.G.Khan
2Consultant Surgeon Allama Iqbal Teaching Hospital D.G.Khan
3PIMS
4Assistant professor, Surgery department ,Karachi Medical and Dental college,karachi
5Associate Professor of Surgery Rawal Institute of Health Sciences Islamabad
6Associate Professor surgery,SMBBMU larkana
ABSTRACT:
Background: Another common surgical emergency is acute cholecystitis which in most cases is accompanied by cholecystectomy. There are two major approaches namely laparoscopic and open cholecystectomy where the laparoscopic one has become preferred because it is a minimally invasive procedure. Nevertheless, there was the need to further examine the comparative results of these two methods especially in resource-constrained environments.
Aim: The aim of the study was to compare the clinical outcomes and the frequency of complications, the operative time, and hospitalization time in laparoscopic and open cholecystectomy among the patients diagnosed with acute cholecystitis.
Methods: It was a retrospective comparative study carried out in Allama Iqbal Teaching Hospital D.G.Khan during May 2024 to April 2025. Ninety four patients were recruited who had acute cholecystitis. The patients were assigned into these two following groups according to the surgical procedure performed: Group A and Group B that were exposed to laparoscopic cholecystectomy and open cholecystectomy correspondingly. The data on variables like duration of surgery, postoperative complications, length of hospital stay and recovery times were noted and analyzed.
Results: Of the 94 patients, the estimated number of patients who were opened versus laparoscopic cholecystectomy were 48 and 46 respectively. The operative time was lower in the laparoscopic group (65 min +/- 12 minutes) than in the open group (82min +/-15 minutes). The mean stay in hospital was much lesser in laparoscopic group (2.3 +/- 0.9 days) than in the open group (5.1 +/- 1.2 days). The infections of wounds and respiratory complications which were part of postoperative complications would occur in more number of the open group (21.7%) than in the laparoscopic group (10.4%). Laparoscopic also had a faster recovery time as majority of the patients used to continue with normal activities within a week.
Conclusion: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy proved to have a better outcome due to lesser operative time, less hospital staying, less post operative complication and recovery from it was also faster than open cholecystectomy. Such results justified laparoscopic surgery as the initial practice in the management of acute cholecystitis even in remote care facilities.
Keywords: Acute cholecystitis, laparoscopic cholecystectomy, open cholecystectomy, surgical outcomes, postoperative complications, hospital stay.