I. Vinograd et al., LAPAROSCOPIC CHOLECYSTECTOMY - TREATMENT OF CHOICE FOR CHOLELITHIASISIN CHILDREN, World journal of surgery, 17(2), 1993, pp. 263-266
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is rapidly replacing traditional cholecys
tectomy as the standard treatment for cholelithiasis and cholecystitis
in adults. Over a period of 16 months, 14 children with a clinical di
agnosis of cholelithiasis, ranging in age from 4 to 15 years (mean 12.
2), were treated. All had symptoms of abdominal pain or vomiting; one
had jaundice and recurrent cholecystitis. Five children (35%) had asso
ciated metabolic or hemolytic diseases. The 14 children were operated
on using the laparoscopic cholecystectomy technique. No operation was
converted to open cholecystectomy, but two patients required laparotom
y: one because of suspected injury to the common duct, and the other b
ecause of nonvisualization of the gallbladder during laparoscopy. The
mean postoperative hospital stay for the 11 children who underwent onl
y laparoscopic cholecystectomy (one patient also had a simple mastecto
my) was 50 hours (range 48-72 hours). All children resumed their norma
l activities almost immediately after discharge from hospital. No long
-term biliary or other complications were seen in any patient througho
ut an average follow-up period of 6.2 months (range 3-16 months). The
benefits of this operation in children are obvious: It is safe, effect
ive, and well tolerated.