Table 1

Preoperative and postoperative findings from the questionnaires in subjects undergoing laparoscopic sterilisation (controls) or cholecystectomy (gallstones)

						Gallstones
		Controls (n=37)				Women (n=85)			Men (n=21)
		Before surgery	After surgery			Before surgery	After surgery		Before surgery	After surgery
Defecations/week	7 (3–21)	7 (1–21)		7 (1–28)	8 (2–28)^1-150		8 (3–24)	8 (3–25)
Constipated more than occasionally	11 (30)	9 (24)		32 (38)	16^1-150 (19)		2 (10)	2 (10)
Straining to start^1-152	3 (8)	3 (8)		24 (28)	17^†(20)		1 (5)	2 (10)
Lumpy stools^1-152 ^1-153	0/22 (0)	1/17 (6)		12/59 (20)	9/51 (18)		1/15 (7)	4/18 (22)
Runny stools^1-152 ^1-153	3/22 (14)	3/17 (18)		9/59 (15)	13/51 (25)		4/15 (27)	4/18 (22)
Urgency^1-152	14 (38)	11 (30)		31 (36)	35 (41)		4 (19)	6 (29)
Diarrhoea occasionally	8 (22)	10 (27)		19 (22)	26 (31)		7 (33)	3 (14)
Diarrhoea usually or always	1 (3)	1 (3)		3 (4)	6 (7)		0	0

Data presented are actual numbers of subjects with percentages in brackets, except for defecations/week, where data are median (range).
↵1-150 p<0.001, ^†p=0.065 v before surgery.
↵1-152 Often or more (more than 25% of defecations).
↵1-153 In subjects who admitted examining their stools.