Current management of the gallbladder after endoscopic sphincterotomy for common bile duct stones

Traditionally, a cholecystectomy is performed after successful endoscopic sphincterotomy and removal of common bile duct (CBD) stones, except in patients of advanced age or with substantial comorbidity. In practice, however, the gallbladder is left in situ more frequently now in patients without contraindications for surgery. The criteria by which patients are selected for an elective cholecystectomy are unclear. The aim of the present study was to establish the proportion of patients for whom a "wait-and-see" strategy was advised and to determine which, if any, patient characteristics had influenced this decision.

This study included 71 patients, all younger than 80 years of age, with both CBD stones and a gallbladder containing stones in whom endoscopic clearance of bile duct stones was achieved.

Three patients underwent a cholecystectomy within 1 week because of acute cholecystitis. Among the remaining 68 patients, cholecystectomy was recommended for 42 patients and a wait-and-see strategy was advised for 26 patients. Patient characteristics were identical in both groups except for the American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status (ASA) score. The ASA score was higher in the wait-and-see group, but 69% of the patients in this group had an ASA score of I or II. Six patients in the wait-and-see group had symptoms; five patients underwent cholecystectomy. The outcome of surgery was no worse in this group than in the cholecystectomy group.

Selection of patients for either elective cholecystectomy or wait-and-see was not based on established criteria but mainly dependent on preference of the specialist. The outcome of surgery, indicated in 23% of the patients in the wait-and-see group was comparable with elective cholecystectomy. A controlled trial comparing both treatment options in patients younger than 80 years of age should be performed.