Cholecystectomy recipients showed improvements after 3 weeks

Patients who underwent cholecystectomy reported significant reductions in pain and fatigue, as well as improved bowel and physical function, within 3 weeks of the procedure, according to data presented at The Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons Annual Meeting in Baltimore.

Researchers evaluated data from 100 laparoscopic cholecystectomy recipients. Pain, fatigue, cosmesis, bowel dysfunction, physical function and overall satisfaction were assessed according to the Surgical Outcomes Management System (SOMS) before cholecystectomy and 24 hours, 72 hours, 1 week, 3 weeks, 6 months, 1 year and 2 years postsurgery.

Pain values, according to SOMS, peaked at the 24-hour evaluation (19.7 ± 6.8), with significant reductions at each subsequent time point (P<.01 for each). Pain reported at 1 week was comparable to that before cholecystectomy (11.6 ± 5.4 vs. 12.6 ± 4.4; P=.37), while pain at 3 weeks was reduced compared with preoperative pain (7.9 ± 3.2; P<.01).

Patients indicated significantly worse bowel function at 1 week compared with preoperative function (12.6 ± 4.4 vs. 14.8 ± 3.9; P=.03), which had improved at the 3-week evaluation (11.1 ± 3.4; P<.01) and remained constant through 1 year. Similarly, physical function was worse at 1 week than before surgery (27.3 ± 5.4 vs. 31.6 ± 6.2; P<.01) but had improved by week 3 (33.6 ± 3.2; P=.025), with equivalent values reported throughout follow-up. SOMS values for fatigue followed a similar pattern (20.8 ± 6.3 at week 1 compared with 15.9 ± 6.1 before surgery; P<.01; 13.8 ± 5.2; P=.025 at week 3).

Patients’ perception of cosmesis reached its highest level at 6 months (4.7 ± 1.6 vs. 5.2 ± 1.8 at week 3; P=.026). Overall satisfaction with the procedure had a high score of 9.44 out of 11, with values constant between 3-week and 2-year evaluations.

“Physical function, pain, fatigue and bowel function surpassed preoperative levels by week 3,” the researchers wrote. “Satisfaction with the procedure and cosmesis were high throughout, and maximum cosmesis was achieved by 6 months post-op.”

For more information:

Zapf M. S090: Patient Centered Outcomes Following Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy. Presented at: The Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons 2013 Annual Meeting; April 17-20, .