Laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the Academy Medical Centre, Khartoum, Sudan.

OBJECTIVE

To highlight the results of minimum access surgery in Sudanese patients.

DESIGN

Prospective audit of laparoscopic cholecystectomies.

SETTING

The Academy Medical center (Yastabshiroon), Teaching University Hospital.

SUBJECTS: All the patients who had this type of surgery were included in the study. Clinical and operative data were evacuated from March 2002 to March 2004.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: One hundred and twenty patients had laparoscopic cholecystectomy at the center. There were 97 females and 23 males; age range was 22-90 years with a mean of 52 years. Indications for surgery were repeated attacks of biliary colic in 38, chronic cholecystitis in 60, acute cholecystis in 10 and mucocele in 12 patients.

RESULTS

Three patients with chronic cholecystitis had peri-portal fibrosis due to bilharzial infestations, in spite of which laparoscopic surgery was successful. Operating time was 25-120 minutes with a mean of 47 minutes. Conversion was performed in six (2%) patients because of bleeding and four for extensive dense adhesions. There was one mortality case of a 75-year-old female who had pulmonary embolus. Hospital stay was 16-24 hours with a mean of 22 hours. Two patients had port site discharge.

CONCLUSION

In general, patients were satisfied with the results of surgery and this encourages us to popularise this procedure to take off in the Sudan.