Laparoscopic cholecystectomy during pregnancy

Abstract

Cholecystectomy is after appendectomy the second most frequent surgical procedure made in pregnant women. The operation is indicated in all cases of symptomatic gallbladder stones which do not respond to medical treatment and all complicated forms such as acute cholecystitis or acute pancreatitis. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy, considered in the beginning as a high risk procedure both for mother and child, is nowadays safer and useful comparing to open surgery. Our limited experience can confirm this. There were operated two pregnant (2nd and 6th month of pregnancy) with acute cholecystitis. There were no intraoperative incidents or accidents, no postoperative complications and no problems in pregnancy evolution after operation. This presentation emphasis the particular technical problems due to pregnancy during laparoscopic cholecystectomy, aspects concerning anesthesia and preoperative monitoring of mother and child.