Gallstone disease: current therapy.

After a decade of effort to develop a minimalist alternative to standard cholecystectomy as the treatment for gallstone disease, laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) has emerged as the treatment of choice. Gallstone dissolution and lithotripsy failed to meet the tests of applicability and reliability. In fact, lithotripsy was denied approval by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1989. LC achieves the benchmark of treatment--removal of the diseased gallbladder and its stones--with less pain, disability, and disfigurement than standard surgery. The procedure is applicable in more than 90% of cases, being limited primarily by the severity of inflammation and the surgeon's experience. During the past 3 years, the special instrumentation has improved and operative techniques have been standardized resulting in fewer complications. For these reasons, laparoscopic surgical techniques are now being applied to a widening array of procedures including hernia repairs, bowel resections, antireflux procedures, common bile duct stone removal, lymph node dissections, and peptide ulcer disease treatment.