Current management of common bile duct stones in northern Italy

In order to obtain a complete picture of the current management of cholecystocholedocal lithiasis in northern Italy we've conducted the present survey. In the years 1992-1993, among 7,861 cholecystectomies, 665 patients with gallbladder and common bile duct stones were treated in 49 surgical departments. Some 271 (43%) were treated by traditional methods: open surgery or endoscopic sphincterotomy followed by laparotomic cholecystectomy; 313 patients (49%) were treated by endoscopic sphincterotomy followed by laparoscopic cholecystectomy and only 38 (6%) were treated by one-stage laparoscopy, either by a transcystic approach (27) or by laparoscopic choledochotomy (11). Morbidity and mortality were not significantly different in the different groups. We conclude that open surgery and sequential minimal invasive treatment are the standard approaches to cholecystocholedochal lithiasis in this first stage of the laparoscopic era. The laparoscopic management of common bile duct stones is at present confined to surgical departments specially devoted to laparoscopic surgery.