[The treatment of acute cholecystitis complicated by mechanical jaundice]

After analyzing the summed up treatment results in 368 patients with acute cholecystitis, complicated by obstructive jaundice, the inference is reached that it is a matter of a complication, unfavourable in terms of prognosis, with a definite impact on both immediate and long-term therapeutic results. Early operative intervention following intensive preoperative preparation (including ERHPG with endoscopic papillosphincterotomy and ensuing biliary decompression, or echographic percutaneous cholecystectomy) contribute to control the acute inflammatory process in the gallbladder, and preclude the development of liver (or hepato-renal) failure against the background of obstructive jaundice. Proceeding from the severe, irreversible changes in liver and kidney, hardly responding to treatment, and persisting deterioration of the general condition, acute cholecystitis complicated by obstructive jaundice is defined as an emergency life-endangering condition, requiring a priority operative approach.