[Stenosis of the papilla of Vater; indication and surgical technique of papillotomy (author's transl)].

Between 1977 to 1979 1077 patients underwent surgery for benign diseases of the bile duct, 41 (3.8%) were papillotomies. 31 of these patients (2.9%) out of 1,045 were operated on for the first time and 10 (31.2%) for the second time. Absolute indications for papillotomy: indurative stenoses of the bile papilla, intrapapillary stone formation, which could not be removed by other means, suspicion of carcinoma. Relative indications are: indurative papillitis, chronic pancreatitis. The mortality rate amounted to 2 (4.8%), all other patients (90.4%) could be cured except two.