Is acute cholecystitis a contraindication for laparoscopic cholecystectomy?

Two-hundred and ninety-four patients underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy between May 1993 and April 1997 in the Clinical and Surgical Gastrointestinal Unit at Santa Casa Hospital of Porto Alegre. Of all, 47 were operated on for acute cholecystitis (AC). The mean age was 47.1 years, 70.2% were females and 29.8% were males. The mean operative time was 142.8 minutes. Routine intraoperative cholangiography was successfully done in 38 (80.8%) and conversion was necessary in 3 (6.4%). All patients received prophylactic antibiotics for 24 hours. No intraoperative or postoperative complications were detected. The results in this series showed that laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a possible and safe technique for the treatment of the AC.