Laparoscopic cholecystectomy: analysis of the complications at a community hospital.

With the worldwide acceptance of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) as the treatment of choice for symptomatic gallbladder disease, great concern has grown over the spectrum of complications associated with this new procedure. The nature, causes, frequency, as well as ways to avoid these complications have been the subject of many articles and studies. Although it is established that the frequency of the major complications decreases with increased experience, there will still be new surgeons performing the procedure with limited experience in the early stages of their surgical practice. Therefore, continuous efforts should be exerted to bring to a minimum the number of serious morbidities, especially common bile duct injuries. Review of each institution's experience and sharing it with other medical centers may be a valuable approach to achieve this important goal. In this report, we will analyze the spectrum of complications we encountered during our experience with LC as well as some recommendations to avoid some of the serious morbidities related to this procedure.