[Therapeutic options in gallstone ileus].

Gallstone ileus is a rare, serious condition, requiring emergency surgery, specific to elderly age. The present study deals with 16 cases operated in 25 years period, with median age about 64 years old. The patients had clinical evidence of intestinal obstruction, confirmed by radiological examination and ultrasonography. Emergency operations were performed. In 7 cases had been treated radically both the obstruction (entero-lithotomy) and the bilio-digestive fistula (cholecystectomy, duodenal closure, enteral closure, colon-suture) with good results (only one death). In 9 cases, it had been treated only the intestinal obstruction, with only 2 cases of persistent cholangitis. Generally, we have used biliary drainage with Kehr tube in the presence of biliary stones and cholangitis. The biliodigestive fistula may close in evolution or become a harmless secondary route for internal biliary drainage.