Minimal trauma cholecystectomy (a "no-touch" procedure in a "well").

Salient features of an operative technique designed to reduce to a minimum the iatrogenic trauma of cholecystectomy include a limited incision, muscle retraction (instead of division), specific packing and retraction, and distant manipulations by long instruments. Eighty two unselected consecutive patients with primary gallbladder disease underwent operation by this technique. Two permanently bed-confined patients were excluded from study. Acute cholecystitis was documented by histopathology review in 23 cases and chronic cholecystitis in 57 cases. Case material included usual pre-existing concomitant medical problems; five patients meeting formal criteria for the diagnosis of morbid obesity; 15 patients exceeding 199 pounds and one weighing 315 pounds; ambulatory (outpatient) cholecystectomy; 17 patients over 70 and four patients over 80 years of age; five gangrenous and one perforated gallbladders, and perigallbladder abscesses without gangrene in one case; and conspicuous absence of respiratory complications. Median and average incision length was 5.5 cm. There were no major and five minor complications. Recent experience demonstrated safe performance of elective cholecystectomy for chronic disease, regardless of degree of patient obesity, with median incision length 5 cm, median operative time 65 minutes and median post-operative hospital stay 2 days.