| [ Summary ] |
EST was performed on 1,808 patients with common bile duct stones 1977 to 2000. Complete removal of common bile duct stones was achieved in 1,640 out of 1,808 patients (90.7%). Early complications occurred in 54 cases (bleeding, pancreatitis, basket impaction, perforation and cardiac arrest in 35, 9, 6, 3, and 1 case, respectively), and 3 of them died from bleeding and pancreatitis. The overall morbidity rates and mortality rate were 3.0% and 0.2%, respectively. The long-term clinical course was analyzed in 1,424 patients followed up for over 1 year after EST. Recurrent stones were found in 65 patients (4.6%), which were treated endoscopically in 62 cases and surgically in 3 cases. Cholesystitis ocurred in 4 out of 161 patients without gall stones (2.5%) and in 24 out of 140 patients with gall stones (17.1%). Cholesystectomy was performed in 13 cases (1 with out gall stones and 12 with gall stones). From this series of follow-up studies, it may be concluded that EST is the procedure of first choice for treatment of common bile duct stones. |