Published online Jan 14, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i2.546
Revised: November 8, 2013
Accepted: November 28, 2013
Published online: January 14, 2014
AIM: To evaluate the feasibility, safety, and effectiveness of consecutive laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) plus splenectomy (LS) in liver cirrhosis patients.
METHODS: From 2003 to 2013, 17 (group 1) patients with liver cirrhosis complicated by hypersplenism and symptomatic gallstones were treated with combined LC and LS, while 58 (group 2) patients with liver cirrhosis and hypersplenism received LS alone. An additional 14 (group 3) patients who received traditional open procedures during the same period were included as controls. Data were retrospectively collected and reviewed in regard to demographic characteristics and preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative features. Differences between the three groups were assessed by statistical analysis.
RESULTS: The three groups showed no significant differences in the demographic characteristics or preoperative status. However, the patients treated with LC and LS required significantly longer operative time, shorter postoperative stay as well as shorter time of return to the first oral intake, and suffered less intraoperative blood loss as well as fewer postoperative surgical infections than the patients treated with traditional open procedures (group 1 vs group 3, P < 0.05 for all). The patients treated with LC and LS showed no significant differences in the intraoperative and postoperative variables from those treated with LS alone (group 1 vs group 2). All patients showed significant improvements in the haematological responses (preoperative period vs postoperative period, P < 0.05 for all). None of the patients treated with LC and LS presented with any gallstone-associated symptoms following discharge, while the patients treated with the traditional open procedures expressed complaints of discomfort related to their surgical incisions.
CONCLUSION: Consecutive LC and LS is an appropriate treatment option for liver cirrhosis patients with gallstones and hypersplenism, especially for those with Child-Pugh A and B.
Core tip: Cholelithiasis occurs more frequently in liver cirrhosis patients with hypersplenism than in the general population. The recent significant advances in minimally invasive surgery have aroused surgeons’ interest in performing combined laparoscopic procedures. Here, we report our experience with concomitant laparoscopic cholecystectomy and splenectomy in liver cirrhosis patients. This is the first reported case series of its kind and will provide useful clinical information to physicians facing the challenge of treating cirrhotic patients who are in need of surgical attention to address coexisting abdominal diseases.