• A Glättli, H Reischl, C Seiler, M Gilg, H U Baer, and A Czerniak.
• Universitätsklinik für Viszerale und Transplantationschirurgie, Inselspital Bern.
• Helv Chir Acta. 1993 Mar 1; 59 (4): 561-5.

AbstractRecently the indication for laparoscopic cholecystectomy has been enlarged to include biliary pancreatitis. While a majority of reports recommend early open cholecystectomy for biliary pancreatitis the use of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in this disease has not yet been discussed. We retrospectively reviewed 52 patients with biliary pancreatitis being admitted to our ward in the last five years. Cholecystectomy was performed in 48 patients. Ten had undergone laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Postoperative complications occurred in 8 of the 48 patients (16.6%). Four patients (8.3%) died due to necrotizing pancreatitis or rupture of pseudocysts. We found a correlation between morbidity and mortality and the prognostic score as well as the presence of pseudocysts. We conclude that biliary pancreatitis is a good indication for laparoscopic cholecystectomy in patients with a low prognostic score. The presence of pseudocysts in our view is no contraindication for laparoscopy. Although it may increase postoperative morbidity. Choledocholithiasis has to be ruled out either by preoperative ERCP or during laparoscopy with intraoperative cholangiography.

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