Surg Endosc. 1996 May;10(5):481-4. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE
BACKGROUND: Surgical stress is known to disturb the immune system so
that the overall picture is one of generalized immunosuppression
proportional to the degree of stress. It has been suggested that
minimally invasive procedures, i.e., laparoscopic cholecystectomy,
should be accompanied by decreased surgical stress. METHODS: The present
study utilized a panel of monoclonal antibodies to identify peripheral
blood lymphocyte subpopulations in 11 patients scheduled for elective
laparoscopic cholecystectomy. These were obtained immediately
preoperatively, one day postoperatively, and one week postoperatively.
RESULTS: The results demonstrated a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in
T-helper to T-suppressor cell ratios the first day postoperatively
compared to the preoperative ratios; the mean decrease was 13% below the
preoperative ratios. There was no significant change in the ratios one
week postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS: Even though laparoscopic
cholecystectomy has been documented to have less disability and
postoperative pain than open cholecystectomy, alterations in immune
function, although attenuated, do persist.
Adult Aged Antibodies, Monoclonal *Cholecystectomy,
Laparoscopic/ADVERSE EFFECTS CD4-CD8 Ratio Female Human Male Middle
Age Stress/IMMUNOLOGY *T-Lymphocyte Subsets JOURNAL ARTICLE