What Are the Results of Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Compared With Open Cholecystectomy and Other Available Treatments?
The evaluation and comparison of outcomes of the various available therapeutic modalities are hampered by inherent limitations and by the type and quality of the available data. The rapidly evolving technology for the treatment of gallstones, especially laparoscopic cholecystectomy, presents a swiftly moving target for analysis. This not only complicates the comparison of studies conducted only a few years apart, but necessarily limits analysis to a “snapshot” in time. Moreover, there is strong consensus that there is a rapid acquisition of appropriate technical skills associated with laparoscopic cholecystectomy, which is reflected in widely differing reported rates of morbidity. The following analysis therefore provides a general framework for the evaluation of outcomes, which should facilitate subsequent reanalysis in the face of anticipated further rapid progress. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy owes much of its rapid growth to market forces generated, not inappropriately, by patient
