Laparoscopic exploration of the common bile duct: beyond the learning curve.

BACKGROUND: Bile duct clearance at open cholecystectomy had become normal surgical practice before the introduction of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. However, perceived technical difficulties have deterred many surgeons from treating common bile duct stones at the time of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. This has led to a reliance on preoperative clearance of ducts known to have stones and postoperative clearance of ducts found to have stones at operation or those that subsequently develop complications of retained stones.
METHODS: The authors describe a series of 120 consecutive bile duct explorations carried out between April 1991 and February 1997 in a series of 1,237 laparoscopic cholecystectomies.
RESULTS: Laparoscopic exploration and clearance of the bile ducts was achieved in 89% of cases in the whole series, and 97% success was attained in the last 60 cases, which also were associated with a decrease in operating time.
CONCLUSIONS: We believe that for surgeons familiar with open common bile duct exploration and laparoscopic cholecystectomy, the next logical step is laparoscopic exploration of the common bile duct at the time of cholecystectomy, which is safe and readily mastered.