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September 10, 2026The American Surgeon

Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Is a Time-Sensitive Operation: National Outcomes Associated With Delayed Surgery

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Authors

HBHimani BhattNVNancy Orduno VillaJKJayant Kumar

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Overview

Retrospective cohort study reveals increased readmissions, complications, and costs after delayed laparoscopic cholecystectomy in surgical patients, highlighting the need for prompt intervention.

Key Points

  • To evaluate the clinical and economic impact of operative delays in adult patients undergoing urgent or emergent laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the United States.
  • Queried the Nationwide Readmissions Database (2021–2022) for patients aged ≥18 years undergoing urgent or emergent laparoscopic cholecystectomy (N=136,893).
  • Stratified patients by timing of surgery (<3 vs ≥3 days) and performed 1:1 propensity score matching using 46 covariates (matched n=48,992).
  • Evaluated primary 30-day readmissions, secondary complications (venous thromboembolism, surgical site infection), and hospital costs using linear regression, including a safety-net hospital subgroup analysis.
  • Operative delays (≥3 days) were associated with significantly increased odds of 30-day readmission (9.5%; OR 1.22, 95% CI [1.15–1.29], P < 0.001) and venous thromboembolism (1.5%; OR 1.51, 95% CI [1.30–1.77], P < 0.001), with no significant difference in surgical site infection (0.2%).
  • Mean total hospitalization costs were higher for delayed versus early surgery ($25,957 ± $21,609 vs $20,784 ± $20,027), with an incremental cost of $1,695 per pre-operative day that increased to $2,071 per day in safety-net hospitals (P < 0.001).

Cite This Study

Bhatt et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6aa27ab158559d80afc736bfhttps://doi.org/10.1177/00031348261486928
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