Background and Objective: Choledochal cyst is an
abnormal cystic dilatation of the biliary system. Many
literature showed the laparoscopic surgery is a safe
procedure when compared with open approach. The
objective of this study was to compare the clinical
safety of laparoscopic surgery with conventional open
surgery in our hospital.
Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on all
patients younger than 18 years who presented with a
choledochal cyst in Srinagarind hospital from
January 2014 to November 2019. The data were
collected from medical records. The clinical safety
defined as the operative time, intraoperative blood
transfusion, blood loss, postoperative complication,
time of first food intake and length of hospital stay.
Data were compared between the 2 groups.
Results: A total of 29 patients were reviewed. 25
patients underwent open surgery, whereas 4 patients
underwent laparoscopic reconstruction. Operative
time and the cystic size had significant difference. The
operative time in Laparoscopic group was 663.8 ± 67.5
minutes and open group was 326.4 ± 138.5 minutes
(p < 0.001). The cyst size in laparoscopic group was
1.5 cm. and in open surgery group was 4.5 cm.
(p = 0.005). There were no significant difference among
other factors of both groups.
Conclusions: Our initial experience indicates that the
laparoscopic approach is safe and having no difference
in the patient outcomes, including the complications
when compared with the open operation.
Keywords
choledochal cyst, Laparoscopic surgery in children, Early experience