[Laparoscopic cholecystectomy: current status].

Since its introduction a few years ago, laparoscopic cholecystectomy has become today the standard treatment of gallbladder stones. Compared to open surgery it involves little change in the preoperative investigations. There has been, especially in the beginning of the learning curve, a demand for preoperative visualization of the bile duct anatomy and for exclusion of intraductal stones. Thus the incidence of preoperative ERCP has risen with the development of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. For the advanced laparoscopic surgeon, the indications for laparoscopic cholecystectomy are the same as for open surgery. The benefits of laparoscopy for the patient are obvious and the results are favourable. Bile duct injury is a very severe complication and, at the beginning of the learning curve, the incidence has been somewhat higher than in open surgery. Therefore, proper training in laparoscopic surgery and quality control are necessary. Many reports on advanced laparoscopic procedures have already been published, but only the future will show the limits of this technique.