Prophylactic laparoscopic cholecystectomy in adult sickle cell disease patients with cholelithiasis: A prospective cohort study

Introduction: Prophylactic laparoscopic cholecystectomy remains controversial and has been discussed for selected subgroups of patients with asymptomatic cholelithiasis who are at high risk of developing complications such as chronic haemolytic conditions. Cholelithiasis is a frequent condition for patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Complications from cholelithiasis may dramatically increase morbidity for these patients. Our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of prophylactic cholecystectomy in SCD patients with asymptomatic gallbladder stones.

Methods: From January 2000 to June 2014, we performed 103 laparoscopic cholecystectomies on SCD patients. Fifty-two patients had asymptomatic cholelithiasis. The asymptomatic patients were prospectively enrolled in this study, and all underwent a prophylactic cholecystectomy with an intraoperative cholangiography. The symptomatic patients were retrospectively studied. Upon admission, all patients were administered specific perioperative management including intravenous hydration, antibiotic prophylaxis, oxygenation, and intravenous painkillers, as well as the subcutaneous administration of low-molecular-weight heparin. During the same period, 51 patients with SCD underwent a cholecystectomy for symptomatic cholelithiasis. We compared these 2 groups in terms of postoperative mortality, morbidity, and hospital stay.

Results: There were no postoperative deaths or injuries to the bile ducts in either group. In the asymptomatic group, we observed 6 postoperative complications (11.5%), and in the symptomatic group, there were 13 (25.5%) postoperative complications.

Discussion: Regarding the SCD complications, we observed 1 case (2%) of acute chest syndrome in an asymptomatic cholelithiasis patient, while there were 3 cases (6%) in the symptomatic group. Vaso-occlusive crisis was observed in 1 patient (2%) with asymptomatic cholelithiasis, and in 4 patients (8%) in the other group. The mean hospital stay averaged 5.8 (4-17) days for prophylactic cholecystectomy and 7.96 (4-18) days for the comparative symptomatic group.

Conclusions: Postoperative complications related to SCD were less frequent for asymptomatic patients who had a laparoscopic prophylactic cholecystectomy. This intervention, if performed with perioperative specific management, is safe and helps avoid emergency operations for acute complications including cholecystitis, choledocholithiasis, and cholangitis. For SCD patients, a prophylactic cholecystectomy reduces hospital stays.