Subtotal cholecystectomy for benign gallbladder disease: a study protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis of the observational studies published between 1985 and 2019

Subtotal cholecystectomy (STC) is the partial removal of the gallbladder and is performed when the anatomy of the Calot’s triangle cannot be fully identified. It is thought to be associated with higher post-operative morbidity rates when compared with the conventional cholecystectomy technique. This systematic review of research papers published between 1985 and 2019 aims to ascertain the perioperative morbidity, mortality and clinical burden associated with STC. The protocol of the study has been registered with PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (registration number CRD42020172808) (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/).