title: Endoscopic sphincterotomy: long-term results in 408 patients with complete follow-up.
abstract: Endoscopic sphincterotomy was performed in 469 patients for the treatment of biliary calculi, with procedure-related morbidity of 6.3% and mortality of 0.4%. Long-term follow-up to 10.5 years (mean 3.7 years) was completed in all of 408 patients at least six months postsphincterotomy. Recurrent stones developed in 21 patients (5.8%) after a mean of 2.4 years (range 4 months to 7 years); in 6 after 3 years. Eight patients reformed stones more than twice at a mean interval of 1.8 years (range, 5 months to 3.5 years). In the 122 patients with gallbladders in situ, acute cholecystitis occurred in 5 of 31 with gallstones (16%), but in none of the 91 without gallstones. In the 237 patients who had undergone cholecystectomy, 4 late deaths occurred secondary to recurrent choledocholithiasis and cholangitis. In the 49 patients with primary intrahepatic stones, 3 late deaths occurred secondary to hepatic abscess. These results suggest that (a) endoscopic sphincterotomy is a very effective procedure in long-term follow-up, (b) cholangiography should be done at the appearance of slight abdominal symptoms even after 3 years, (c) patients who have ever reformed stones should undergo cholangiography yearly for at least 4 years, and (d) cholecystectomy is recommended for patients with gallbladders after sphincterotomy, only if gallstones are present.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery I, Fukuoka University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yoshimoto
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Itoh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014670:Ampulla of Vater / Q000601:surgery*; D002760:Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde; D002764:Cholecystitis / Q000453:epidemiology; D004724:Endoscopy; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D042882:Gallstones / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012008:Recurrence; D009803:Sphincter of Oddi / Q000601:surgery*