title: Preoperative endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography: therapeutic impact in a general population of patients needing a cholecystectomy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The place of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) before open or laparoscopic cholecystectomy remains controversial. Most of the reports study highly selected series of patients and therefore do not give a survey of the actual situation in a general population. We describe here the therapeutic impact of preoperative ERCP in a continuous cohort of patients needing a cholecystectomy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data concerning a 2-year continuous and unselected series of 452 patients undergoing cholecystectomy were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred ninety-three patients (65%) presented with a chronic symptomatic biliary lithiasis and 159 patients (35%) with a complicated biliary lithiasis. A preoperative ERCP was performed in 206 patients, all presenting with a suspicion of associated lithiasis of the common bile duct (CBD). An endoscopic sphincterotomy was performed in 106 patients: 44 patients presented with CBD stones (9.7%), all successfully cleared by endoscopy. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has been attempted in 367 patients (81%) and successfully performed in 333 patients (74%). Laparotomy as a first-choice procedure was performed in 85 patients (19%). Surgical choledochotomy was never performed. Postoperative ERCP was needed in 4 patients (0.88%) and in only 1 of them for a retained CBD stone (0.22%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In a continuous series of patients needing a cholecystectomy, preoperative ERCP was performed on the basis of suspected CBD disorders. It allows CBD stone detection and extraction in almost 10% of the patients and avoids peroperative CBD exploration, with a very low rate of retained stones after surgery. The association of preoperative ERCP with subsequent laparoscopic cholecystectomy (when feasible) offers the patient a quick recovery and a short hospital stay.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicosurgical Gastroenterology Erasme Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium.
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Huynh
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Van de Stadt
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Devière
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mehdi
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: el Nakadi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cremer
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Lambilliotte
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gelin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001649:Bile Duct Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D001660:Biliary Tract Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D002760:Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde; D002761:Cholangitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D002763:Cholecystectomy; D017081:Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic; D002764:Cholecystitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D002769:Cholelithiasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011300:Preoperative Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016717:Sphincterotomy, Endoscopic