The chronological change of indications and outcomes for single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy: a Korean multicenter study

Background: Although single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy (SILC) is a common procedure, the change in its surgical indications and perioperative outcomes has not been analyzed. Methods: We collected the clinical data of patients who underwent pure SILC in 9 centers between 2009 and 2018 and compared the perioperative outcomes. Results: In this period, 6497 patients underwent SILC. Of these, 2583 were for gallbladder (GB) stone (39.7%), 774 were for GB polyp (11.9%), 994 were for chronic cholecystitis (15.3%), and 1492 were for acute cholecystitis (AC) (23%). 162 patients (2.5%) experienced complication, including 20 patients (0.2%) suffering from biliary leakage. The number of patients who underwent SILC for AC increased over time (p = 0.028), leading to an accumulation of experience (27.4 vs 23.7%, p = 0.002). The patients in late period were more likely to have undergone a previous laparotomy (29.5 vs 20.2%, p = 0.006), and to have a shorter operation time (47.0 vs 58.8 min, p < 0.001). Male (odds ratio [OR]; 1.673, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.090–2.569, p = 0.019) and moderate or severe acute cholecystitis (OR; 2.602, 95% CI 1.677–4.037, p < 0.001) were independent predictive factors for gallbladder perforation during surgery, and open conversion (OR; 5.793, 95% CI 3.130–10.721, p < 0.001) and pathologically proven acute cholecystitis or empyema (OR; 4.107, 95% CI 2.461–6.854, p < 0.001) were related with intraoperative gallbladder perforation Conclusion: SILC has expanded indication in late period. In this period, the patients had shorter operation times and a similar rate of severe complications, despite there being more numerous patients with AC.