Assessment of Pain and Recovery Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Open Vs. Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy  in Selected Individuals

Background: Cholecystectomy is a regular surgery that is carried out to treat the gallstone disease, which is a gastrointestinal disease. The results of the study were a comparison of postoperative pain, recovery, and complication of open cholecystectomy (OC) and laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). Methods: The study was a prospective observational study (May 2023 to September 2023) included 100 patients with gallstones divided into OC and LC groups equally, based on the discretion of the surgeons and surgical timing. Pain was assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) at the 6, 12, and 24 hours. The selected parameters were analyzed using T-tests and chi-square tests (SPSS v26.0); the p-value of below 0.05 was deemed significant. Results: At 6 hours (4.1 ± 1.2 vs. 6.8 ± 1.5), 12 hours (3.2 ± 1.0 vs. 5.4 ± 1.3), and 24 hours (2.1 ± 0.8 vs. 3.9 ± 1.1), VAS scores were significantly lower in LC. LC patients had shorter hospital stay (9.2 ± 3.1 vs. 18.7 ± 5.4 days) and spent less time in the hospital (2.3 ± 0.9 vs. 5.6 ± 2.3 days) with p < 0.001). Seven OC patients (14%) experienced complications, including 3 (6%) in wound infection, 2 (6%) in bile leak, 1(2%) in respiratory infection, and 1(2%) in hemorrhage; four LC patients (8%) experienced complications, including 2 (4%) in wound/port infection, 1(2%) in bile leak, and 1(2%) hemorrhage (p = 0.344). Conclusion: In comparison to OC, LC is linked to significantly less postoperative pain, a faster recovery, and fewer complications.