When is cholecystectomy optimal for acute pancreatitis, presumably caused by gallstone disease?
Classically, patients with gallstone pancreatitis would undergo cholecystectomy 4 to 6 weeks following their initial hospitalization; however, more recent studies show high recurrence rates with this delay. In addition, early surgery (i.e., during the same hospitalization, after pain has resolved) has shown similar complication and conversion rates compared with the delayed approach.
