Early laparoscopic cholecystectomy significantly cuts hospital stays for patients with acute cholecystitis without raising major complication risks.

• Early surgery reduced total hospital stay by 3.5 days (p < 0.00001) compared to delayed surgery.
• No significant increase in conversion to open surgery, bile duct injury, or overall postoperative complications was found.

Surgeons can confidently opt for early intervention, defined by hospital admission timing, to optimize patient outcomes.

• Minor intraoperative complications were more frequent with early surgery but did not affect overall patient recovery.