Percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage followed by laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis

Abstract Introduction: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) has been considered as main treatment for acute cholecystitis due to gallstones. However, LC is not entirely safe for patients with severe comorbidities, high risk of surgery. In such circumstances, two-stage treatment including percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage (PTGBD) first and then LC is an appropriate choice. PTGBD followed by LC or LC after PTGBD might be technically difficult. This article was written to evaluate the feasibility and the safety of PTGBD followed by LC (PTGBD + LC). Materials and Methods: This case series report was conducted on patients who underwent PTGBD + LC in University Medical Center, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, from June 2018 to June 2020. We applied TG 2018 criteria for diagnosis and severity grading of cholecystitis in all patients. The comorbidities were evaluted according to Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) and American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status (ASA-PS) classification. Indications for PTGBD were grade II or grade III acute cholecystitis and the presence of a severe comorbidities (CCI > 6 and/or ASA > III). Results: From June 2018 to June 2020, there were 13 cases performed PTGBD + LC. There were 84,6% of grade II cholecystitis cases and 15,4% of grade III cholecystitis cases according to Tokyo guidelines 2018 criteria with comorbidities (30,8% of cases with CCI > 6, 100% of cases with ASA > III). Mean operative time: 126 minutes; one case needed transfusion due to bleeding from gallbladder inflammatory; no conversion to open surgery; morbidity rate was 23,1% (1 bile leakage successfully treated with preservation, 1 surgical site infection, 1 pneumoniae); mean hospital stay was 5,25 days; no mortality was observed in this series. Conclusions: PTGBD followed up by LC is feasible and safe procedure for acute cholecystitis in selected patients.