Abstract

SURGICAL SITE INFECTION FOLLOWING GALL BLADDER SURGERY

ABSTRACT

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of surgical site infection (SSI) after laparoscopic, open cholecystectomy and choledochotomy. To assess the bacteriological data that causing wound infection and to determine the excess length of postoperative stay in infected patients. Methods: The 243 patients under going a cholecystectomy in the department of Surgical Gastroenterology, Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), from April 2003 to Dec 2004 were included in the study. The 161, 50 and 32 patients underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy, open cholecystectomy and choledochotomy respectively. Results: The overall SSI rate following biliary surgery was 11.04 %. The SSI rates were 0.62%, 10% and 50% after laparoscopic cholecystectomy, open cholecystectomy and choledochotomy respectively. The excess length of postoperative stay in cholecystectomy and choledochotomy patients was 4 days (P- valve=0.0007) and 5 days in choledochotomy (Pvalve= 0.0084). The predominant microorganism causing SSI was E.coli followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae, Salmonella Weltevreden, Enterococci faecalis and MRSA. Conclusions: There was a significant relationship between intraoperative wound contamination and the SSI in cholecystectomy and in choledochotomy.

Keywords: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy, open cholecystectomy, choledochotomy, SSI, Biliary surgery.