Introduction:

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (CL) is the optimal treatment of cholelithiasis, but the persistence of symptoms is frequent and it’s called postcholecystectomy syndrome (SPC). In this study, we aimed to determine the incidence of this syndrome.

Material and methods:

An observational transversal study was performed, 220 clinical records from adult patients who had been done CL in 2017 at the Hospital Nuevo Sanatorio Durango were analyzed. It has been evaluated the five most frequent gastrointestinal symptoms: right upper quadrant abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal distension, before and a year after the surgery.

Results:

SPC was present in 23.1% of cases (n = 36), the persistent symptoms were: abdominal distension (21.8%), pain (14.7%), nausea (5.8%), diarrhea (4.5%) and vomiting (0.6%). The number of patients reporting biliary pain, nausea and vomiting reduced significantly over a year of the surgery. The surgery didn’t modify the risk of presenting diarrhea, but it is a risk factor to present abdominal distension (OR 2.08). 10 patients had no final diagnosis (32.3%).

Conclusion:

SPC is frequent, patients should be carefully examined to exclude postoperative complications. CL has been associated with increased incidence of irritable bowel syndrome.