Surgical treatment of acute cholecystitis in obese patients

Introduction: In today’s technological climate, science and medicine have entered a new era. At the level of technological progress, we have identified millennia of “new” problems and diseases. If earlier diseases had a certain individuality then, in the third millennium, we face compliance and synergistic influence of diseases. Obesity is a problem of the third millennium. It is known that obesity is the main factor in the development of various chronic diseases [1–3]. With excess weight and obesity, bile is oversaturated with cholesterol, resulting in an increase of its lipogenicity index. As a result, frequency of gallstone disease increases; findings from this study document an increase of disease frequency as high as 50% to 60% [4]. In 20% of patients, housing concerns are combined with obesity [5]. Thus, obesity is one of the factors in the development of cholelithiasis and cholecystitis [6]. The presence of acute cholecystitis represents the most difficult situation for patients with gallstones. When obesity is also present, the patient’s risk of surgical complications increases due to altered homeostasis and reduced reserve capacity [7]. A retrospective study of this issue [8] posed a number of questions about the possibility of influencing the course of disease in the preoperative period as well as the improvement and impact of surgical technicalities in patients with acute cholecystitis and obesity. Addressing these and additional questions is the main goal of this study. Aim: The aim of the study was to study and select the optimal method of surgery in patients with acute cholecystitis and obesity. Materials and methods: In our study, a prospective analysis was used. We analyzed 67 cases with diagnosis of acute cholecystitis and obesity; all were treated at Kyiv Regional Clinical Hospital in the period from September 2018 to March 2020. Patients with acute cholecystitis and obesity received either traditional or modified laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Results: Retrospective analysis indicates traditional laparoscopic cholecystectomy is technically difficult and costly in patients with acute cholecystitis and obesity. A modified laparoscopic cholecystectomy has been proposed to improve and enhance surgery in patients with acute cholecystitis and obesity. Surgical duration was shortened by 9.01 ± 0.41 minutes (p = 0.001; αα= 0.05) when a modified laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed. Conclusions: Performing a modified laparoscopic cholecystectomy reduced the duration of surgery by 9.01 ± 0.41 minutes (p = 0.001; α = 0.05), prevents development of metabolic acidosis pH 7.39 ± 0.03 vs 7.30 ± 0.005 = 0.001; αα= 0.05, pCO2 5.05 ± 0.36 vs 6.03 ± 0.38 (p = 0.02; αα= 0.05), reducing the risk of hypercoagulation. Modified laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LHE) is effective in II and III degrees of obesity (p = 0.001; α = 0.05).