Objective：To explore the relationship between preopertive abdominal ultrasonic features of acute cholecystitis and conversion from laparoscopic to open cholecystectomy.
Methods：A total of 226 patients with acute cholecystitis received ultrasonic examination before LC. The parameters  measured pre-operatively included the gallbladder volume, cholecystic wall thickness, gallbladder fossa fluid, stone impaction in gallbladder neck, adhesions of gallbladder to arourd tissue or adhensions of Calot′s triangle. The relationship between the imaging results and conversion to laparotomy in LC were analyzed.
Results：LC was successfully performed in 208 patients, but 18 were converted to open surgery. Univariate analysis showed that enlarged gallbladder, cholecystic wall thickness, stone impaction in gallbladder neck and adhesions of Calot′s triangle were significantly correlated with the conversion to open cholecystectomy (P＜0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that cholecystic wall thickness and adhesion of Calot′s triangle were independent risk factors for conversion from laparoscopic cholecystectomy to open surgery.
Conclusions：Preoperative ultrasonography for predicting conversion from laparoscopic to open cholecystectomy in acute cholecystitis is simple, and has  important significance for selection of laparoscopic operation in acute cholecystitis.