【Abstract】 Objective To investigate the therapeutic effects of different gallbladder dissection methods during laparoscopic cholecystectomy and compare the outcomes between the lateral approach dissection method and the traditional dissection method in terms of surgical metrics, postoperative complications, and recovery. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 80 patients with gallbladder stones who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy at Yongqiao District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January 2021 to November 2023. The patients were divided into two groups: the observation group (lateral approach dissection method,40 cases) and the control group (traditional dissection method, 40 cases). The two groups were compared regarding operative time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage tube duration, postoperative drainage volume, incidence of postoperative complications, and postoperative recovery indicators (time to bowel sounds recovery, time to first flatus, and time to first bowel movement). Results ① There was no significant difference in operative time between the two groups [(71.23±4.82) min vs (69.75±4.65) min, P=0.166]. The intraoperative blood loss in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group [(35.66±5.71) mL vs (40.03±6.34) mL, P=0.002]; the postoperative drainage tube duration was significantly shorter in the observation group than that in the control group [(2.87±0.55) days vs (3.26±0.58) days, P=0.003]; and the postoperative drainage volume was significantly less in the observation group than that in the control group [(46.55±7.13)mL vs (62.23±10.82)mL, P ＜ 0.001]. ② There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of postoperative complications between the two groups (10.00% vs 15.00%, P=0.499). ③ The time to recovery of bowel sounds [(0.75±0.42) days vs (1.12±0.54) days, P=0.001], time to first flatus [(1.86±0.59) days vs (2.33±0.65) days, P=0.001], and time to first bowel movement [(2.78±0.65 )days vs (3.15±0.73) days, P=0.019] were all significantly shorter in the observation group than those in the control group. Conclusion The innovative lateral approach method in laparoscopic cholecystectomy demonstrates multiple clinical advantages, making it a safe and effective gallbladder dissection method worth promoting in clinical practice.