[Lithiasis of the common bile duct and its treatment]

Controversy concerning the most appropriate treatment for a patient with a stone in the main duct almost always leads to an overused conclusion in medical-surgical meeting--laparoscopic and classical surgery are complementary procedures--yet in everyday practice, the gastroenterologist will almost always order a retrograde cholangiogram to confirm the diagnosis and, once the obstacle identified, complete the procedure with an endoscopic sphincterotomy even though many surgeons emphasize its danger. At present few operators are equally experienced in the three major therapeutic options, endoscopy, conventional surgery and laparoscopic surgery, and consequently everybody has a tendency to favour his most proficient technique. Whatever technique is chosen, the aim is to completely remove all gall stones from the main bile duct with a minimum amount of risk and at the most reasonable cost. Careful attention to these three factors should help in weighting the advantages and disadvantages of the different means of management.