[Preoperative endoscopic sphincterotomy]

We present a prospective unrandomized series of 40 patients with symptomatic choledocholithiasis and symptomatic cholelithiasis. The patients were divided in two groups of 20 patients each one. The patients fallen in the first group had endoscopic sphincterotomy and elective cholecystectomy on a later date in the same hospital course as the recommended treatment. The second group underwent elective cholecystectomy and common bile duct exploration. There was no difference in the percentage of morbidity and mortality between the groups. In the first group the figures on morbidity and mortality were not different from that seen when each process was performed alone. Endoscopic Sphincterotomy plus elective cholecystectomy is a therapeutic alternative in choledocholithiasis when there is gallbladder with stones.