Percutaneous papillary balloon dilatation as a therapeutic option for cholecystocholedocholithiasis in the era of laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of percutaneous papillary balloon dilatation (PPBD) as a therapeutic option for cholecystocholedocholithiasis, in combination with laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). A total of 15 patients with both bile duct and gallbladder stones were clinically investigated. In 14 patients, PPBD was performed 2 to 7 days prior to LC, while in the remaining patient, PPBD was performed immediately after LC under general anesthesia in one continuous session. The bile duct stones were successfully pushed out into the duodenum in all the patients, seven of whom required two sessions for complete stone clearance, while the other eight needed only one session. Two patients had bile duct stones larger than 12 mm in diameter, necessitating electrohydraulic lithotripsy under cholangioscopy. The insertion of a percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage tube did not cause intra-abdominal adhesions severe enough to contraindicate the use of LC. The operation times for LC varied from 80 to 184 min, with a mean operation time of 132 min, and the average postoperative and overall hospital stays were 9 and 26 days, respectively. There were no deaths or major complications, apart from transient hyperamylasemia. The findings of this study indicate that PPBD combined with LC is a safe and effective therapeutic option for cholecystocholedocholithiasis.