Common bile duct stones - their presentation, diagnosis and management

Common Bile duct stones (CBD) continue to pose a significant problem both to the patient and the Surgeon. They increase the morbidity of a patient undergoing Cholecystectomy from less than 5% to as much as 20% and almost zero mortality to as high as 30%. Recent times have thrown up a fair share of controversy in the management of this condition both due to technological innovations and costreduction-pressures. The aim in CBD stone disease, as in any benign disease is to discover a therapeutic algorithm with minimal morbidity, no mortality and at reasonable cost. This can be achieved only by a thorough understanding of the disease and also the available diagnostic and treatment modalities.This article dicusses the diagnosis, investigation and therapy of Common Bile Duct Stones (CBD) and gives a therapeutic algorithm.