Symptoms of oesophageal reflux are more common following laparoscopic cholecystectomy than in a control population.

Previous studies have shown that up to 40 per cent of patients have symptoms after cholecystectomy or laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). There are concerns, however, that these symptoms reflect those of the general population and are not a specific post-operative phenomenon. Abdominal symptoms of 212 patients following LC were compared to a healthy acalculous control population (n = 62). Patients and controls were assessed by questionnaire. Age and sex profiles were similar in both groups. There was no significant difference in the incidence of abdominal pain, bloating or nausea between the 2 groups. Frequent heartburn was a symptom in 19.3 per cent of patients following LC as compared to 3.2 per cent of control patients (p = 0.004, chi-squared 9.39, 1 d.f.). Furthermore 11.3 per cent of post-operative patients complained of dysphagia versus 6.4 per cent of the control group (p = 0.08, chi-squared 1.245, 1 d.f.). One hundred and twenty (57.1 per cent) patients judged their operation to be a complete success, while 9 (4.3 per cent) were dissatisfied. Five of the latter group cited frequent heartburn as the cause of their dissatisfaction. We conclude that abdominal pain, bloating and nausea occur as frequently in the general population as in patients following LC. Patients are more likely to suffer from heartburn and dysphagia following LC than a normal population supporting a link between cholecystectomy and lower oesophageal dysfunction.