[Gallstone disease: basic mechanisms, diagnosis and therapy]

Gallstone disease is one of the most common gastroenterological diseases and represents a major burden for our heath care systems. Cholesterol gallstones, responsible for about 90% of stones, represent a multifactorial disease with an important genetic component. Most gallstone-carriers remain asymptomatic and hence in general, they not need any therapy. In contrast those with symptomatic (biliary colic) or complicated gallstone disease (cholecystitis, obstructive cholangitis, biliary pancreatitis) have to be treated interdisciplinary by surgeons and endoscopists. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy represents the causal therapy to avoid recurrent symptoms as well as the therapy of choice for cholecystitis as the most common complication of gallstone disease. Bile duct stones and the associated complications (cholangitis, biliary pancreatitis) are primarily treated endoscopically.