Urinary retention after elective cholecystectomy

Background: There are few reports about urinary retention rate after elective cholecystectomy. We designed a prospective study to assess the problem. Methods: A total of 121 female and 19 male patients were included in the study with a prospective study protocol. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed in 107 patients and open cholecystectomy in 33 patients. Results: Neither gender nor age affected rate. Postoperative micturition difficulty developed in 10 patients. Of these patients, 9 could void with helping measures, and only 1 needed catheterization. Only 1 patient who underwent laparoscopic surgery required catheterization (0.7%). The open approach caused a higher incidence of postoperative micturition difficulty than did the laparoscopic approach (15.2% versus 4.7%; P = 0.04). Only large amounts of perioperative fluid administration and meperidine use had statistically significant effects on micturition problems. Conclusions: Urinary retention is a rare complication after elective cholecystectomy. Helping measures are very effective and should be tried before inserting a urethral catheter.