[Foreign bodies in the biliary tract. I. Postoperative foreign bodies in the biliary tract. Review of the literature (71 cases) apropos of 4 personal cases].

Starting out from four cases which they personally treated, the authors have made a complete review of the literature concerning biliary foreign bodies, and list 92 cases, with the following breakdown - 71 operative residues, 15 ingested bodies and 6 penetrating bodies. They attempt to analyse the mechanics of the formation of lithiasis around post-operative residues and assess its real frequency. They come to the following conclusions: most of these cases can be avoided by careful cleaning before closure of the choledocotomy, by the use of good-quality, correctly cut T-tubes and drainage material, by cutting the cystic duct as short as possible, and by exclusive use of resorbable fine thread in the biliary tract and the cystic artery.