[Surgical risk of the Oddi sphincterotomy. Results of an international survey (25541 cases)].

Operative risks of transduodenal sphincterotomy (T.D.S.) are the principal subject of discussion between those surgeons who practice the operation and those that condemn it. An international survey of 25, 541 cases treated by 130 surgeons showed that the incidence of specific complications such as acute pancreatitis (0.6 p. 100), hemorrhage (0,65 p. 100), and early cholangitis (0,5 p. 100), and relative mortality were lower than those usually reported by surgeons attributing an excessive operative risk to the procedure. Data was also obtained indicating that certain "risk factors" due to teh surgical technique were statistically significant (X2 test) and that knowledge of these enabled complications to be avoided. Morbidity and mortality of TDS could then be reduced to the level of those common to biliary tract surgery.