Comparison of postoperative pulmonary function tests after cholecystectomy performed through Kocher's incision and mini-incision.

Comparative pulmonary function after cholecystectomy performed through Kocher's incision and mini-incision were evaluated. One hundred patients were included and systematically divided into two groups of 50 each. The first group underwent conventional cholecystectomy and the second group underwent mini-cholecystectomy. Vital capacity (VC), forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume at 1 second (FEV1), and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) were determined on the preoperative day and on postoperative days 1, 2, and 3. The percentage of reduction of VC on postoperative day 1 (P < 0.01), 2 (P < 0.01), and 3 (P < 0.01) after Kocher's incision was more than the percentage of reduction after mini-incisions on the corresponding day, respectively (P < 0.01, P < 0.01, and P < 0.01). The percentage of reduction of FVC (P = 0.0001, 0.0001, and 0.0001) was lesser after mini-incision cholecystectomy than after Kocher's incision cholecystectomy on the three corresponding postoperative days. The percentage of reduction of FEV1 after mini-incision was lesser than after Kocher's incision cholecystectomy on the three corresponding postoperative days (P = 0.001, 0.000, and 0.000). There was no significant difference in PEFR between the two groups on the three corresponding postoperative days (P = 0.731, 0.652, and 0.393). It is observed that min-incision cholecystectomy is followed by superior postoperative pulmonary function to that seen after Kocher's incision.