Is damage to the common bile duct during laparoscopic cholecystectomy an inherent risk of the operation?

Laparoscopic cholocystectomy has been practiced for close to 20 years. The rate of common duct injury remains somewhere between 0.4 to 0.7 percent and is approximately the same around the world. Recent papers have stressed ways in which laparoscopic common duct injury can be avoided, but none of the methods mentioned is foolproof. In addition, this complication can occur to even the most experienced laparoscopic surgeon. The author believes that injury to the common duct during laparoscopic cholocystectomy is not a result of the practice below the standard, but an inherent risk of the operation. This injury needs to be emphasized by the surgical community as an inherent risk of the operation, and patients should be fully informed of this potential complication.