Audit of laparoscopic cholecystectomies in a district general hospital.

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy was first performed in Buraydah Central Hospital, Al Qassim in September 1993. Since more than 125 open cholecystectomies were performed annually, there was a need to be able to deliver this type of service to the patients in our hospital. Continued audit is needed to ensure that the results with low complication rates achieved in tertiary centers are reproduced by the surgeons at district level. Our study of 340 laparoscopic cholecystectomies performed between September 21, 1993 and September 20, 1995 describes the results with incidence of complications, conversion to open procedure, mean operation time and the extend of postoperative stay in a district hospital. Our complication rates compare favorably with the results achieved in laparoscopic cholecystectomy in many centers. Data obtained by us suggests that laparoscopic cholecystectomy is safe and effective for the treatment of cholecystitis, and this technique can be introduced safely in a district general hospital in Saudi Arabia.