Biliary surgery.

In the past 2 years, a revolution of unprecedented scope has occurred in biliary surgery. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy, first performed in 1987, has now become the procedure of choice to treat cholelithiasis. Because laparoscopic surgery proliferated in the absence of controlled clinical trials, concerns have been raised regarding its complications. This article reviews the technique of laparoscopic cholecystectomy, examines its feasibility and complications, and discusses the evolving role of intraoperative cholangiography and the approach to common bile duct stones. In a separate section, we review the year's literature on gallstone pancreatitis and on surgical treatment of benign biliary strictures.