A 30-year review of the management of gallbladder disease at a children's hospital.

Fifty-eight patients between the ages of six weeks and 20 years had cholecystectomies during a 30-year period at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. There were 29 females and 29 males. Twenty patients had associated hemolytic disease and nine had associated anatomical lesions. Abdominal pain was the most common complaint, and right upper quadrant abdominal tenderness was the most frequent physical finding. Radiologic studies aided diagnosis in 41 patients. Cholecystectomy was accomplished in all patients, and common duct exploration was performed in 13. Stones were present in 45 patients, and common duct stones were present in six.