PAIN AND DYSPEPSIA AFTER ELECTIVE AND ACUTE CHOLECYSTECTOMY

Background: Postcholecystectomy pain occurs in 20-30%. The main cause of this pain remains unclear. Whether the underlying gallbladder disea se influences the outcome after cholecystectomy is not fully establish ed. Methods: A multicenter questionnaire study comparing the occurrenc e of abdominal pain and dyspepsia 5-10 years after cholecystectomy in 345 (222 women, 123 men) patients cholecystectomized for acute cholecy stitis and in a control group of 296 (213 women, 83 men) patients chol ecystectomized for uncomplicated symptomatic gallbladder stones. Resul ts: Of 641 questionnaires, 534 (83%) were completed. Complaints of abd ominal pain and dyspepsia were found with similar frequencies in the a cute cholecystitis and gallstone groups. Women had abdominal pain more often than men (42% versus 29%) (P = 0.01). Although more than one-th ird complained of abdominal pain after cholecystectomy, 93% had improv ed or were cured. Conclusion: The outcome after cholecystectomy seems to be independent of the underlying gallbladder disease (acute cholecy stitis or elective operations for gallstones).