LAUSR

Background/Aim: The aim was to assess the 8-year health status after minicholecystectomy (MC) versus laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) for gallstone disease (GS) by using the RAND-36 Health Survey. Patients and Methods: Initially, 88 patients with symptomatic GS disease were randomized to undergo either MC (n=44) or LC (n=44). RAND-36 survey was performed 8 years postoperatively. Results: In three RAND-36 domains (social functioning, role physical, role emotional) MC procedure was significantly better than LC. In MC patients, the 8-year postoperative scores of social functioning (p<0.001), role physical (p=0.002) and role emotional (p<0.001) were significantly higher than the age- and gender –adjusted Finnish reference scores. Conclusion: The Finnish version of the RAND-36 survey can be used as a valid and reliable method for measuring the quality of life and long-term outcome of cholecystectomy patients following surgery.