Clinical outcome of routine drainage in simple laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Objective To retrospectively review outcomes of elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) to evaluate the benefit of routine drainage in uncomplicated surgeries.Methods Two-hundred-and-ninety-five patients with cholecystolithiasis or gallbladder polyps who underwent LC with drainage (n=145) and or without drainage (n=150) between 2009 and 2011 were enrolled in the study.The decision for drainage was randomized.Results The LC without drainage group had significantly shorter time to first flatus and shorter length of postoperative hospital stay than the LC with drainage group.One patient in the drainage group developed an intra-abdominal abscess, but there was no significant difference between the two LC groups with respect to overall postoperative complication rate.Conclusion Application of a peritoneal drainage tube after simple elective, uncomplicated LC did not provide any clinical benefit to the patients, and should be considered according to the operating physician′s judgment on a case-by-case basis.