[Minicholecystectomy].

Mini-cholecystomectomy was performed in 24 unselected patients with symptomatic gallbladder stones with pain control by intra- and postoperative epidural analgesia. Twenty three patients were discharged on the second postoperative day, while one patient who required re-laparotomy for haemostasis had recovered completely on the third day postoperatively. Median pain score (VAS) was 0 at rest, during coughing and mobilisation. Pulmonary function was not influenced significantly and postoperative fatigue normalized after 48 hours. These preliminary, uncontrolled observations suggest that mini-cholecystectomy is advantageous compared to conventional cholecystectomy, and may represent an alternative to laparoscopic cholecystectomy.