ObjectiveTo explore the optimal surgical timing of sequential laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) following percutaneous cholecystostomy (PC) in the patients with acute cholecystitis, so as to provide a clinical reference. MethodsThe patients who underwent PC and then sequential LC in the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University from March 2021 to July 2023 were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, who were categorized into 3 groups: the short interval group (3–4 weeks), the intermediate interval group (5–8 weeks), and the long interval group (>8 weeks) based on the time interval between the PC and LC. The gallbladder wall thickness before LC, operative time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative hospitalization time, total hospitalization time, time and cases of drainage tube placement, admission to intensive care unit, conversion to open surgery, occurrence of complications, and total hospitalization costs were compared among the 3 groups. ResultsA total of 99 patients were enrolled, including 25 in the short interval group, 41 in the intermediate interval group, and 33 in the long interval group. The data of patients among the 3 groups including demographic characteristics, blood routine, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, fibrinogen, international standardized ratio, liver function indicators, and comorbidities had no statistical differences (P>0.05). The gallbladder wall thickness before LC and the operative time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative hospitalization time, total hospitalization time, time and cases of drainage tube placement, admission to intensive care unit, conversion to open surgery, occurrence of complications, and total hospitalization costs during and after LC had statistical differences among the 3 groups (P<0.05). These indicators of the intermediate interval group were better than those of the other two groups by the multiple comparisons (P<0.05), but which had no statistical differences except total hospitalization costs (P=0.019) between the short interval group and the long interval group (P>0.05). ConclusionAccording to the results of this study, the optimal surgical timing of sequential LC following PC is 5–8 weeks, however, which needs to be further validated by large sample size and multicenter data.