Background: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the preferable treatment for chronic or acute cholecystitis. Some factors may increase the rate of laparoscopic conversion to open cholecystectomy and perioperative complications. The role of gender as a risk factor for laparoscopic cholecystectomy is controversial. Aim: To evaluate the role of the gender on the operative findings and outcome of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Method: All patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy for chronic or acute cholecystitis were included. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, imaging exams, intraoperative and postoperative data were obtained and analyzed. The data was obtained retrospectively from electronic medical records and study protocols. Results: Of a total 1,645 patients who were subjected to laparoscopic cholecystectomy, 540 (32.8%) were men and 1,105 (67.2%) were women. Mean age was similar in both genders (p=0.817). Operative time has longer in the male (72.48±28.50) than in the female group (65.46±24.83, p<0.001). The rate of acute cholecystitis was higher in the male (14.3%) than in the female group (5.1%, p<0.001). There was no difference between the genders in regard to the rate of conversion (p=1.0), intraoperative complication (p=1.0), postoperative complication (p=0.571), and operative mortality (p=1.0). Conclusion: Male gender is not an independent risk factor for laparoscopic conversion and perioperative complications.

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Background and Objectives: In several developed countries, most laparoscopic cholecystectomies (LCs) are performed as an ambulatory operation (ALC) with a high rate of success. In Latin America, the experience with this procedure is still limited. Our objective is to evaluate the feasibility to implement ALC in a Brazilian teaching hospital. Methods: Data obtained from electronic medical records and study protocols of all patients who underwent an LC between January 2011 and March 2018 were evaluated. All patients with chronic or acute cholecystitis were initially considered for an ALC. Results: Of a total of 1645 patients who underwent LC, 1577 (95.9%) were discharged on the same day of the operation. The main reasons for hospital admission after ALC were patient refusal to be discharged (n = 23; 1.4%), nausea and vomiting (n = 15; 0.9%), and complicated acute cholecystitis. No patient was excluded from consideration for ALC based only on age, history of previous upper abdominal operation, and presence of comorbidity. Patient age ranged from 12 to 100 years, with a mean of 50.23 ± 15.35 years. Intraoperative and postoperative complication rates were 0.4% and 5.5%, respectively. Most perioperative complications were because of technical surgical difficulties and complications common to most abdominal operations (surgical site, pulmonary, urinary, and venous complications). Thirteen (0.8%) patients were readmitted to the hospital because of abdominal pain and fever (n = 4), pneumonia (n = 3), deep venous thrombosis (n = 3), or urinary retention (n = 3). Conclusions: ALC may be performed in Brazil with low rates of morbidity, mortality, and hospital readmission. Its implementation should be stimulated in Latin America.

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RESUMO Objetivo: avaliar os resultados da colecistectomia laparoscópica em idosos comparados com pacientes mais jovens. Métodos: revisamos os prontuários médicos informatizados de todos os pacientes submetidos à colecistectomia laparoscópica para colecistite crônica ou aguda, de 1o de janeiro de 2011 a 31 de março de 2018, em um único hospital de ensino. Os pacientes foram estratificados em dois grupos: idosos (≥60 anos de idade) e mais jovens (<60 anos de idade). Resultados: de 1645 pacientes submetidos à colecistectomia laparoscópica, 1161 (70,3%) eram mais jovens e 484 (29,7%) eram idosos. A taxa de homens foi maior nos idosos (n=185, 38,2%) do que no grupo mais jovem (n=355, 30,6%, p=0,003). Icterícia foi mais comum em idosos do que no grupo mais jovem (p=0,004). A taxa de operação abdominal prévia também foi maior nos idosos (<0,001). A porcentagem de pacientes com escore ASA II, III e IV foi maior no grupo de idosos (p<0,001 no escore II e III e 0,294 no escore IV). O tempo de operação foi maior nos idosos (71,68±31,27) do que no grupo mais jovem (p=0,001). Os seguintes dados perioperatórios foram maiores nos idosos: colecistite aguda (p<0,001), taxa de conversão (p=0,028), complicações pós-operatórias (p=0,042) e mortalidade (p=0,026). Conclusão: o tempo operatório é maior e a taxa de colecistite aguda, conversão para colecistectomia aberta e complicações pós-operatórias são maiores em idosos quando comparados com pacientes mais jovens submetidos à colecistectomia laparoscópica.

Management of cardiac symptoms in myasthenia gravis (MG) patients can be challenging. The aim of this report is to describe the safe use of ivabradine for stable angina in MG patients. A 48 y.o. woman, with MG diagnosis, presented stable angina. Therapies choices were reduced considering concomitant disease as well as previous and unsuccessful cardiologic managements. Ivabradine showed unexpected results. The patient presented an improvement of neurological and cardiac symptoms, bringing ivabradine as one more therapeutic option to similar patients. In this report we recommend ivabradine as an effective and safe drug for treatment of stable angina in MG patients.