The results of the economic evaluation suggest that , on average , the surgery strategy costs £ 1236 more per patient than the conservative management strategy but was , on average , more effective .
An increase in the number of people requiring surgery while treated conservatively corresponded to a reduction in the cost-effectiveness of the conservative strategy .
The results of this assessment indicate that cholecystectomy is still the treatment of choice for many symptomatic people .
However , approximately half of the people in the observation group did not require surgery or suffer complications in the long term indicating that a conservative therapeutic approach may represent a valid alternative to surgery in this group of people .
BACKGROUND Approximately 10 - 15 % of the adult population suffer from gallstone disease , cholelithiasis , with more women than men being affected .
Cholecystectomy is the treatment of choice for people who present with biliary pain or acute cholecystitis and evidence of gallstones .
However , some people do not experience a recurrence after an initial episode of biliary pain or cholecystitis .
As most of the current research focuses on the surgical management of the disease , less attention has been dedicated to the consequences of conservative management .
OBJECTIVES To determine the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of  cholecystectomy  compared with observation/conservative management in people presenting with uncomplicated symptomatic gallstones ( biliary pain ) or cholecystitis .
Symptomatic, non-complicated gallbladder stone disease. Operation or observation? A randomized clinical study.
BACKGROUND Cholecystectomy has been recognized as the treatment of choice for symptomatic gallbladder stone disease . Not all patients are cured by an operation and the reason for having the gallbladder removed may rest on common practice rather than evidence -based medicine . The aim was to compare cholecystectomy with observation ( watchful waiting ) in patients with uncomplicated symptomatic GBS disease . Three-hundred- and -thirty-eight patients were considered for participation in the study ; 45 patients were excluded according to predefined criteria and 156 did not join for other reasons . The remaining 137 were r and omized to cholecystectomy ( n = 68 ) or non-operative , expectant treatment ( n = 69 ) . METHODS R and omized patients were contacted regularly and followed for a median of 67 months . All gallstone-related hospital contacts were registered in both r and omized and excluded patients . RESULTS Eight of the patients r and omized to cholecystectomy did not undergo operation , while 35 of the patients r and omized to observation later had their gallbladders removed . The cumulative risk of having a cholecystectomy seemed to level off after 4 years . Gallstone-related complications occurred in 3 patients in the observation group , 1 in the operation group and 5 of 201 excluded patients . After cholecystectomy , 16 of 222 patients had a major complication and 10 a minor . CONCLUSIONS We found that non-operative expectant treatment carries a low risk of complications . Patients should be informed that watchful waiting is a safe option
The results of the economic evaluation suggest that , on average , the surgery strategy costs £ 1236 more per patient than the conservative management strategy but was , on average , more effective .
An increase in the number of people requiring surgery while treated conservatively corresponded to a reduction in the cost-effectiveness of the conservative strategy .
The results of this assessment indicate that cholecystectomy is still the treatment of choice for many symptomatic people .
However , approximately half of the people in the observation group did not require surgery or suffer complications in the long term indicating that a conservative therapeutic approach may represent a valid alternative to surgery in this group of people .
BACKGROUND Approximately 10 - 15 % of the adult population suffer from gallstone disease , cholelithiasis , with more women than men being affected .
Cholecystectomy is the treatment of choice for people who present with biliary pain or acute cholecystitis and evidence of gallstones .
However , some people do not experience a recurrence after an initial episode of biliary pain or cholecystitis .
As most of the current research focuses on the surgical management of the disease , less attention has been dedicated to the consequences of conservative management .
OBJECTIVES To determine the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of  cholecystectomy  compared with observation/conservative management in people presenting with uncomplicated symptomatic gallstones ( biliary pain ) or cholecystitis .