[Late results of endoscopic sphincterotomy in patients with intact gallbladder]

Late complications and the recurrence rate of gall-bladder stones were registered by means of annual follow-up examinations over a maximum period of five and a half years in 91 out of 116 patients in whom endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) with the gall-bladder in situ was performed. It turned out that only one patient had colic after EST in the group of patients with patent ductus cysticus (n = 36). It was not necessary to cholecystectomise any patients. In contrast, there were 13 cases of patients with incompetent ductus cysticus (n = 55) having a colic or cholecystitis and 5 cases where the patients had to be choletectomised after EST. Thus the evaluation of the ductus cysticus is of prognostic importance in making a decision to carry out cholecystectomy after successful EST.