Evaluation of laparoscopic cholecystotomy in the treatment of gallbladder stones.

Laparoscopic cholecystotomy (LCT) was attempted in 34 patients with biliary type symptoms; 33 patients suffered from gallbladder stones and one patient from gallbladder polyps. In one patient the gallbladder was not accessible with the laparoscope due to extensive adhesions. In the other patients endoscopic removal of stones and polyps was possible in all cases. In the first five patients the gallbladder was drained with a Foley type catheter at the end of the procedure; in the other patients the incision of the gallbladder was closed primarily with clips and fibrin glue. At the beginning of the series two cases of complications were observed: balloon catheter deflation due to material defect and postoperative bleeding into the gallbladder; after conventional cholecystectomy the two patients made an uneventful recovery. LCT is a one-session procedure suitable for removal of symptomatic stones in well functioning gallbladders with no restrictions concerning the composition, number or size of the stones.