Complications of cholecystectomy in district general hospitals.

The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the incidence of the complications in one thousand consecutive cholecystectomies performed in three district general hospitals. Major post-operative complications occurred in 63 patients (6.3 per cent) and were responsible for 12 deaths (1.2 per cent operative mortality) and 31 reoperations. The incidence of retained stones was 5.8 per cent (10 patients) for those who underwent exploratory choledochotomy, and 10.9 per cent in those who were managed by common bile duct exploration and stone extraction. There were four cases of iatrogenic biliary trauma (0.4 per cent), all in cases operated by junior registrars. All (except one) occurred during elective 'non-complicated' cholecystectomy.