Learning curve and patient outcomes in gallstone surgery: a national register-based cohort study - Takeaways - MDSpire

Patient Outcomes and the Learning Curve in Gallbladder Surgery: Insights from a National Registry-Based Study

  • By

  • Nathalie Young

  • Lars Enochsson

  • Hans Pettersson

  • Peter Elbe

  • Ninos Oussi

  • Gabriel Sandblom

  • July 20, 2026

Share

  • 1

    Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the gold standard for gallbladder surgery, offering reduced hospital stays and lower complication rates compared to open surgery.

  • 2

    The learning curve for surgical trainees involves a steep initial phase of rapid improvement, followed by a slower rate of progress.

  • 3

    The Swedish Surgical Society recommends a minimum of 20 elective procedures for trainees to achieve competence in laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

  • 4

    Higher surgical volumes correlate with better outcomes, with surgeons performing fewer than 20 procedures annually having higher complication rates.

  • 5

    The study analyzed data from GallRiks, covering over 139,000 cholecystectomies performed by 1664 surgeons between 2006 and 2022.

Original Source(s)

Learning curve and patient outcomes in gallstone surgery: a national register-based cohort study

  • by Nathalie Young, Lars Enochsson, Hans Pettersson, Peter Elbe, Ninos Oussi, Gabriel Sandblom

  • July 20, 2026

Related Content

Comparison of Opioid-Free Versions of Total Intravenous Anesthesia and Inhalational Anesthesia in Bariatric Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Transvaginal single-pathway composite reconstruction for pelvic organ prolapse combined with rectal prolapse: a case report

An interpretable machine-learning model for early prediction of acute kidney injury in polytrauma patients