Trial reportHPB : the official journal of the International Hepato Pancreato Biliary Association2016
A randomised, single blinded trial, assessing the effect of a two week preoperative very low calorie diet on laparoscopic cholecystectomy in obese patients.
Trial report in HPB : the official journal of the International Hepato Pancreato Biliary Association, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 39 citations in OpenAlex.
- Preoperative low-energy diets for patients with a body mass index >30 kg/m2 undergoing non-bariatric surgery: pilot feasibility randomized clinical trial and a systematic review and meta-analysis of efficacy data.The British journal of surgery · 2026Pooled it
- Impact of preoperative weight-loss interventions on outcomes after elective non-bariatric surgery: meta-analysis.BJS open · 2025Pooled it
- The safety, tolerability and clinical impact of pre-operative very low-calorie diet prior to non-bariatric abdominal surgery: a systematic review.Langenbeck's archives of surgery · 2024Pooled it
- Modified dietary fat intake for treatment of gallstone disease in people of any age.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Very low energy diets prior to bariatric surgery may reduce postoperative morbidity: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Pooled it
- Effect of weight-loss diets prior to elective surgery on postoperative outcomes in obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinical obesity · 2021Pooled it
- Elective Surgery in Adult Patients with Excess Weight: Can Preoperative Dietary Interventions Improve Surgical Outcomes? A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2021Pooled it
- Readmission to hospital following laparoscopic cholecystectomy: a meta-analysis.Anaesthesiology intensive therapy · 2020Pooled it
- Preoperative dietitian-led Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) Clinic for adults living with obesity undergoing gynaecology, laparoscopic cholecystectomy and hernia repair procedures: a pilot parallel randomised controlled trial.The British journal of nutrition · 2024Trial
- Preoperative weight loss program involving a 20-day very low-calorie diet for obesity before laparoscopic gastrectomy for gastric cancer.Asian journal of endoscopic surgery · 2019Trial
- Analysis of Intraoperative Complications and Outcomes Associated With Obesity During Elective Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy.World journal of surgery · 2026Article
- Dietitian-led very low-calorie diet for preoperative rehabilitation in patients with obesity awaiting non-bariatric elective laparoscopic surgery: A retrospective study.Nutrition in clinical practice : official publication of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition · 2026Article
- Machine learning algorithms as early diagnostic tools for prolonged operative time in patients with fluorescent laparoscopic cholecystectomy: a retrospective cohort study.Frontiers in surgery · 2025Article
- Prescribing preoperative weight loss prior to major non-bariatric surgery for patients with elevated weight: a national provider survey (PREPARE provider survey).Frontiers in surgery · 2025Article
- Preoperative very low-energy diets for obese patients undergoing intra-abdominal colorectal surgery: a retrospective cohort study (RetroPREPARE).Techniques in coloproctology · 2024Article
- The Influence of Obesity on Cholecystectomy Outcomes: A Systematic Review of Laparoscopic and Open Approaches.Cureus · 2024Review
- Review
- Evaluating the evidence for a liver shrinkage diet for obese patients prior to laparoscopic cholecystectomy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of minimal access surgery · 2024Article
- Operative Difficulty, Morbidity and Mortality Are Unrelated to Obesity in Elective or Emergency Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy and Bile Duct Exploration.Journal of gastrointestinal surgery : official journal of the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract · 2022Article
- Diet approach before and after bariatric surgery.Reviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLaparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) can be technically challenging in the obese. The primary aim of the trial was to establish whether following a Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) for two weeks pre-operatively reduces operation time. Secondary outcomes included perceived operative difficulty and length of hospital stay.
methodsA single-blinded, randomized controlled trial of consecutive patients with symptomatic gallstones and BMI >30 kg/m(2) 46 patients were randomized to a VLCD or normal diet for two weeks prior to LC. Food diaries were used to document dietary intake. The primary outcome measure was operation time. Secondary outcomes were length of stay, weight change operative complications, day case rates and perceived difficulty of operation.
resultsThe VLCD was well tolerated and had significantly greater preoperative weight loss (3.48 kg vs. 0.98 kg; p < 0.0001). Median operative time was significantly reduced by 6 min in the VLCD group (25 vs. 31 min; p = 0.0096). There were no differences in post-operative complications, length of stay, or day case rates between the groups. Dissection of Calot's triangle was deemed significantly easier in the VLCD group.
conclusionA two week VLCD prior to elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy in obese patients is safe, well tolerated and was shown to significantly reduce pre-operative weight and operative time.
trial registrationISRCTN: 61630192. http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN61630192 Trial registration.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.