Combined fluoroendoscopic removal of retained biliary stones

Sixty-one patients were referred in the postoperative period for stone extraction through the T-tube tract. In four patients the calculi passed spontaneously. One patient had a papilloma and another a blood clot mimicking a stone. Of the remaining 55 cases, all but three were successfully treated by removal of all calculi from the ductal system, a success rate of 94.5%. No major complications occurred in this series. We believe the combined fluoroendoscopic approach to be the preferred method of extracting stones through the T-tube tract because of the greater precision possible when manipulating under direct vision and the reduction in radiation exposure of patients and personnel.