Abstract
Although acute cholecystitis had initially been considered a contraindication to laparoscopic cholecystectomy because of the high incidence of complications, as a result of the mastery of the required skills by surgeons and improvement in laparoscopic instruments, laparoscopic cholecystectomy is now accepted as safe when surgeons who are expert in laparoscopic techniques perform it. Biennial questionnaire surveys in 2008 and 2009 by Japan Society of Endoscopic showed that laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis was performed in 87%and 90%in responding hospitals, respectively. A report using data from Medicare in the USA also showed that 75%of patients with acute cholecystitis underwent cholecystectomy during the index admission, and laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed in 25%of cholecystectomies. Therefore, laparoscopic cholecystectomy has become a recommended surgical procedure for acute cholecystitis.
