Introduction: Though laparoscopic cholecystectomy provides for a faster recovery, there have been reports of intra operative difficulties in the laparoscopic technique, often necessitating the conversion to
open procedure. A number of factors influencing this has been studied but the role of gender on the intra operative difficulties and post-operative complications is unclear. This study was an attempt to understand the role of gender in the intra and post-operative complications following laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Methodology: This was a prospective observational study conducted among 100 patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy in Victoria Hospital.
Patient details such as age, sex, BMI, intra operative details such as duration of surgery, CBD injury, biliary leak and conversion to open surgery, post-operative complications such as jaundice and pancreatitis, and duration oh hospital stay were noted down. This data was analyzed using student t-test and chi-square test. Results: Of the 100 patients, 68% were females and 32% were males. The mean operative time for male patients 75.31 ± 37.95 minutes while that for female patients was 56.76 ± 29.36 minutes. Of the 32 males patients, 1 (3.125%) patient had CBD injury while 4 (12.5%) patients had conversion to open procedure.
4 (5.8%) of the surgeries were converted to open procedures among female patients, with no CBD injury noted. The mean post-operative hospital stay in male patients was 5.0 ± 2.52 days while that in
female patients was 3.64 ± 1.40 days (p < 0.05). Postoperative jaundice was observed among one male patient while it was not observed among female patients. Post-operative biliary leak was observed among 2 male patients and 1 female patient. Conclusion: The intra operative and post-operative morbidity was comprable among males and females
undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy, with the male gender having a longer duration of surgery and a higher duration of hospital stay.
Keywords: Male gender; Laparoscopic cholecystectomy; Post-operative complications; Difficult laparoscopic cholecystectomy.