Modern standards for comparison of cholecystectomy with alternative treatments for symptomatic cholelithiasis with emphasis on long-term relief of symptoms.

Cholecystectomy is standard treatment for symptomatic cholelithiasis. Long term relief from symptoms, however, has not been reported. We reviewed 671 elective cholecystectomies performed between 1982 and 1987 for biliary colic (group 1, 91 per cent), dyspepsia associated with gallstones (group 2, 5 per cent) and atypical pain syndromes (group 3, 4 per cent), to define precisely important variables for comparison with alternate methods of gallstone treatment. Cholecystectomy resulted in a mortality rate of zero per cent and an over-all morbidity rate of 4.5 per cent. The procedure-related morbidity rate was 2.2 per cent. Long term follow-up period for 81 per cent of these patients (mean of 45 months) showed that 88 per cent were free of symptoms. Patients in groups 1 and 3 were more likely to obtain relief from symptoms than those in group 2 (p = 0.10). We concluded that cholecystectomy is a definitive treatment for symptomatic cholelithiasis with minimal risk to the patient and a high degree of relief from symptoms. Alternative treatments for gallstones must compare favorably with these results of modern cholecystectomy prior to acceptance and widespread use.