Management of common bile duct stones endoscopy versus surgical treatment

ABSTRACT

Fifty three patients with common bile duct stones were treated. According to their investigations, they were divided into 3 groups. Group A, 18 patients with stones in common bile duct and in gallbladder, they were not jaundiced. Group B, 12 patients with retained stones in common bile duct after cholecystectomy. Group C, 23 patients with common bile duct stones and obstructive jaundice. Endoscopic sphincterotomy succeeded in extraction of stones from common bile duct in the three groups with a success rate 75%, 83.3% and 69.5%, respectively. Endoscopic sphincterotomy by an expert endoscopist proved to be very valuable line of treatment either alone or ancillary to surgery of common bile duct stones. It helped in the clearance of common bile duct before surgery or it helped in converting a seriously ill patient to a safe elective situation before surgery