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.