Complex biliary stones may be challenging to remove with standard endoscopic techniques. Factors contributing to complexity include large stone size (≥15 mm), multiple stones, high stone:distal duct ratio, stones above strictures and those in difficult anatomic position. In these cases, additional techniques may be needed, such as endoscopic papillary large balloon dilatation, mechanical lithotripsy, cholangioscopic visually directed lithotripsy, and extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy. The choice of technique depends on local expertise and resources. Cases should be planned to identify the appropriate technique to avoid multiple procedures. This article describes the factors linked to difficulty and the steps to overcome them.

This case report describes a young female patient with a history of surgery to treat choledochal cyst since childhood who was admitted to our hospital with cholangitis. An imaging examination revealed giant stones that almost completely filled the intrahepatic biliary tract. The patient underwent percutaneous transhepatic lithotripsy using a holmium laser. After the lithotripsy, cholangiography showed no residual stones. The patient displayed clinical improvement and was discharged after 14 days in the hospital. This case serves as a reminder of gallstone complications that can occur subsequent to choledochal cyst surgery with biliary-enteric anastomosis and emphasizes many outstanding advantages of percutaneous transhepatic lithotripsy compared with classical surgery.

Short-term common bile duct stenting has been shown to decrease stone size, but its effect on mechanical lithotripsy has not been reported.

Sixty patients of difficult bile duct stones were subjected to mechanical lithotripsy. Thirty patients were subjected to mechanical lithotripsy at the time of first endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (group A) while another 30 patients were subjected to mechanical lithotripsy using trapezoid basket after a short period of stenting (group B). The effect on the hardness of stone, durability of the basket after stenting, and duration of mechanical lithotripsy was studied.

Lithotripsy after stenting was less time consuming, and durability of the basket was much more in comparison to lithotripsy without stenting (p < 0.001). Friability of stone increased after stenting, and it was easy to break the stone after preliminary stenting.

Short-term (2 to 3 months) stenting should be done in all the patients with large stones before subjecting them to mechanical lithotripsy to make the procedure less time consuming and more convenient to endoscopist.

A review is presented of Gustav Paumgartner's five decades of research and practice in hepatology focusing on biliary physiology and disease. It begins with studies of the excretory function of the liver including hepatic uptake of indocyanine green, bilirubin, and bile acids. The implications of these studies for diagnosis and understanding of liver diseases are pointed out. From there, the path of scientific research leads to investigations of hepatobiliary bile acid transport and the major mechanisms of bile formation. The therapeutic effects of the hydrophilic bile acid, ursodeoxycholic acid, have greatly stimulated these studies. Although ursodeoxycholic acid therapy for dissolution of cholesterol gallstones and some other nonsurgical treatments of gallstones were largely superseded by surgical techniques, ursodeoxycholic acid is currently considered the mainstay of therapy of some chronic cholestatic liver diseases, such as primary biliary cirrhosis. The major mechanisms of action of ursodeoxycholic acid therapy in cholestatic liver diseases are discussed. An attempt is made to illustrate how scientific research can lead to advances in medical practice that help patients.

The standard management for patients presenting with bile duct calculi is endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and sphincterotomy with stone retrieval. In failed cases and for intrahepatic duct stones, there are a number of non-operative alternative extraction methods. We describe two cases of percutaneous intracorporeal lithotripsy for biliary calculi and review the literature regarding the indications, complications and success rate.

Extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) is an established treatment of irretrievable biliary and pancreatic stones, but the cost of the shockwave generators limits its widespread use. We revised data about the effectiveness of our treatment for refractory stones using a transportable shockwave generator.

We retrospectively evaluated the short and medium-term outcomes of patients who underwent ESWL using a transportable electromagnetic shockwave generator between 1998 and 2003 at our unit, for the treatment of irretrievable bile duct or pancreatic duct stones. All patients received intravenous conscious sedation and antibiotic prophylaxis.

Complete stone clearance was achieved in 70/82 patients (85.4%), in 66 of the patients (94.2%) with 1 session of ESWL. Despite the insertion of a stent in the bile duct, 2 patients had moderate cholangitis, while they waited for the next ESWL session. We did not record any moderate-severe complication of ESWL, but 2 patients underwent surgery owing to perforation/bleeding during endoscopic removal of residual fragments. A symptomatic recurrence of stones was recorded in 10/69 (14.5%) patients, who had been previously cleared and whose follow-up data (median follow-up 29 mo; range 7 to 66) were available.

We obtained satisfactory stone clearance by using a transportable shockwave generator. Most patients required 1 session. Our experience confirmed the safety of the treatment, even though patients may experience cholangitis while awaiting definitive treatment. The use of a transportable ESWL generator may be a valuable option in centers, while ensuring a sufficient proficiency in biliary endoscopy.

The usual bile duct stone may be removed by means of Dormia basket or balloon catheter, and results are quite good. However, the degree of difficulty is increased when stones are larger. Studies on the subject reported many cases where mechanical lithotripsy is combined with a second technique, e.g. electrohydraulic lithotripsy (EHL), where stones are crushed using baby-mother scope electric shock. The extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy (ESWL) or laser lithotripsy also yields an excellent success rate of greater than 90%. However, the equipment for these techniques are very expensive; hence we opted for the simple mechanical lithotripsy and evaluated its performance.

During the period from August 1996 to December 2002, Mackay Memorial Hospital treated 304 patients suffering from difficult bile duct stones (stone >1.5 cm or stones that could not be removed by the ordinary Dormia basket or balloon catheter). These patients underwent endoscopic papillotomy (EPT) procedure, and stones were removed by means of the Olympus BML-4Q lithotripsy. A follow-up was conducted on the post-treatment conditions and complications of the patients.

Out of the 304 patients, bile duct stones were successfully removed from 272 patients, a success rate of about 90%. The procedure failed in 32 patients, for whom surgery was needed. Out of the 272 successfully treated patients, 8 developed cholangitis, 21 developed pancreatitis, and 10 patients had delayed bleeding, and no patient died. Among these 272 successful removal cases, successful bile duct stone removal was achieved after the first lithotripsy in 211 patients, whereas 61 patients underwent multiple sessions of lithotripsy. As for the 61 patients that underwent multiple sessions of mechanical lithotripsy, 6 (9.8%) had post-procedure cholangitis, 12 (19.6%) had pancreatitis, and 9 patients (14.7%) had delayed bleeding. Compared with the 211 patients undergoing a single session of mechanical lithotripsy, 3 (1.4%) had cholangitis, 1 (0.4%) had delayed bleeding, and 7 patients (3.3%) had pancreatitis. Statistical deviation was present in post-procedure cholangitis, delayed bleeding, and pancreatitis of both groups.

Mechanical bile stone lithotripsy on difficult bile duct stones could produce around 90% successful rate. Moreover, complications are minimal. This finding further confirms the significance of mechanical lithotripsy in the treatment of patients with difficult bile duct stones.

The usual bile duct stone may be removed by means of Dormia basket or balloon catheter, and results are quite good. However, the degree of difficulty is increased when stones are larger. Studies on the subject reported many cases where mechanical lithotripsy is combined with a second technique, e.g. electrohydraulic lithotripsy (EHL), where stones are crushed using baby-mother scope electric shock. The extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy (ESWL) or laser lithotripsy also yields an excellent success rate of greater than 90%. However, the equipment for these techniques are very expensive; hence we opted for the simple mechanical lithotripsy and evaluated its performance.

During the period from August 1996 to December 2002, Mackay Memorial Hospital treated 304 patients suffering from difficult bile duct stones (stone >1.5 cm or stones that could not be removed by the ordinary Dormia basket or balloon catheter). These patients underwent endoscopic papillotomy (EPT) procedure, and stones were removed by means of the Olympus BML-4Q lithotripsy. A follow-up was conducted on the post-treatment conditions and complications of the patients.

Out of the 304 patients, bile duct stones were successfully removed from 272 patients, a success rate of about 90%. The procedure failed in 32 patients, for whom surgery was needed. Out of the 272 successfully treated patients, 8 developed cholangitis, 21 developed pancreatitis, and 10 patients had delayed bleeding, and no patient died. Among these 272 successful removal cases, successful bile duct stone removal was achieved after the first lithotripsy in 211 patients, whereas 61 patients underwent multiple sessions of lithotripsy. As for the 61 patients that underwent multiple sessions of mechanical lithotripsy, 6 (9.8%) had post-procedure cholangitis, 12 (19.6%) had pancreatitis, and 9 patients (14.7%) had delayed bleeding. Compared with the 211 patients undergoing a single session of mechanical lithotripsy, 3 (1.4%) had cholangitis, 1 (0.4%) had delayed bleeding, and 7 patients (3.3%) had pancreatitis. Statistical deviation was present in post-procedure cholangitis, delayed bleeding, and pancreatitis of both groups.

Mechanical bile stone lithotripsy on difficult bile duct stones could produce around 90% successful rate. Moreover, complications are minimal. This finding further confirms the significance of mechanical lithotripsy in the treatment of patients with difficult bile duct stones.

Electrohydraulic lithotripsy is a highly effective method for fragmenting biliary stones, but direct visual control is required. The efficacy and the safety of electrohydraulic lithotripsy without cholangioscopy by using a balloon catheter were evaluated in patients with bile-duct stones that could not be extracted by using standard techniques.

Nineteen patients with extrahepatic bile-duct stones that could not be extracted by using conventional endoscopic methods, e.g., mechanical lithotripsy, were selected to undergo electrohydraulic lithotripsy without peroral cholangioscopy. An electrohydraulic lithotripsy probe with a 3.0 F radio-opaque tip was inserted through a balloon catheter. Electrohydraulic lithotripsy was performed under fluoroscopy until the fragmented stone could be captured in a large basket for mechanical lithotripsy. Endoscopic removal of the fragments was attempted during the electrohydraulic lithotripsy session.

Stones were successfully fragmented in 17 of 19 patients. In 16 patients (84.2%), the bile duct was cleared of all stones. A mean of 1.8 endoscopic sessions was required for complete removal. Additional mechanical lithotripsy was performed in 9 (56.2%) of the 16 patients. Minor complications were noted in 4 patients (2 hemobilia, 1 pancreatitis, 1 cholangitis). There was no 30-day mortality.

For a selected group of patients with bile-duct stones not extractable by using standard techniques, fluoroscopically controlled electrohydraulic lithotripsy with a balloon catheter seems to be an effective method of fragmentation.

Acute biliary pain represents the main symptom of gallbladder stones, less frequently of common bile duct stones or functional disorders of the biliary tract. The pain lasts at least 15 minutes, is typically localized to the epigastrium or the right upper quadrant of the abdomen and my radiate to the right shoulder. Diagnosis of biliary pain is primarily based on clinical criteria, ultrasound allows detection of causative gallstones with high sensitivity and specificity. Analgesics and laparoscopic cholecystectomy are widely accepted as standard therapy for the majority of patients.

Endoscopic extraction of bile duct stones after sphincterotomy has a success rate of up to 95%. Failures occur in patients with extremely large stones, intrahepatic stones, and bile duct strictures. This study examined the efficacy and the safety of extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy in a large cohort of patients in whom routine endoscopic measures including mechanical lithotripsy had failed to extract bile duct stones.

Out of 1587 consecutive patients, endoscopic stone extraction including mechanical lithotripsy was unsuccessful in 313 (20%). These 313 patients (64% women, median age, 73 years) underwent high-energy extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy. Stone targeting was performed fluoroscopically (99%) or by ultrasonography (1%).

Complete clearance of bile duct calculi was achieved in 281 (90%) patients. In 80% of the patients, the fragments were extracted endoscopically after shock-wave therapy; spontaneous passage was observed in 10%. For patients with complete clearance compared with those without there were no differences with regard to size or number of the stones, intrahepatic or extrahepatic stone location, presence or absence of bile duct strictures, or type of lithotripter. Cholangitis (n = 4) and acute cholecystitis (n = 1) were the rare adverse effects.

In patients with bile duct calculi that are difficult to extract endoscopically, high-energy extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy is a safe and effective therapy regardless of stone size, stone location, or the presence of bile duct stricture.

The use of routine intra-operative cholangiography (IOC) remains controversial. This prospective study was carried out to determine whether to perform selective or routine IOC in patients undergoing cholecystectomy for gallstones.

All consecutive patients undergoing open cholecystectomy over a 16-month period were included in the present study. They were divided into two groups based on the absence (n = 79) or presence (n = 55) of indicators of choledocholithiasis. All patients were subjected to cholangiography. Each indicator, subsets of indicators and all indicators combined were evaluated for their ability to predict choledocholithiasis.

There would be only two missed stones (1.5%) if selective cholangiography was to be practised. Intra-operative cholangiography had a positive predictive value of 100%. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and accuracy of all the indicators combined were 93.5%, 84.6%, 74.5%, 97.5% and 88.0%, respectively. The best indicators in each subset were jaundice, common bile duct diameter as assessed by ultrasonography, and a palpable stone during surgery with NPV of 82.7%, 91.1% and 96.8%, respectively.

Routine IOC during cholecystectomy is not essential for the prevention of retained stones. A combination of the various indicators of choledocholithiasis can be used to select patients for cholangiography.

Intrahepatic lithiasis still is a complicated disease and merits special attention during therapeutic intervention. Although resection of the affected liver lobe or segment is the best therapeutic option to completely remove the source of recurrent infection, the need for endoscopic treatment modalities is evident because hepatic resections are combined with a high morbidity and mortality rate.

Over a 10-year period (1988-1997) 55 patients with intrahepatic stones that were not accessible to routine endoscopic extraction were treated at our department. These patients underwent either extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy (n=27) or intracorporeal electrohydraulic (n=12) or laser lithotripsy (n=16).

Using these techniques, we achieved stone fragmentation in 33.3%, 41.6%, and 75%, respectively. With a combination of the different methods, more than 90% of intrahepatic stones could be removed endoscopically. Overall complication rate was 12.7%; complete recovery was achieved in all patients with conservative management.

The endoscopic approach to intrahepatic lithiasis appears to be a useful alternative to surgery, with a lower morbidity and mortality. If endoscopic therapy fails, surgery is still possible.

Endoscopic treatment modalities are well established for the removal of bile duct stones. For the small percentage of stones that are difficult or impossible to extract by conventional means, more sophisticated endoscopic techniques or associated modalities such as intracorporeal laser lithotripsy (ILL) and extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) have to be applied. Little is known, however, about the relative value of these different techniques. We therefore compared endoscopic ILL with ESWL in patients with difficult bile duct stones in a prospective randomized study.

The study included 60 patients (35 women; mean age 70+/-15 years) with bile duct stones in whom standard extraction failed (n=33) or in whom the papilla was not accessible, thus requiring percutaneous access (n=27). They were randomized to receive ESWL under fluoroscopic targeting (maximum discharge number per session: 6000) or ILL using a pulsed dye laser with an automatic stone recognition system, which was mostly performed (28 of 30 cases) under cholangioscopic control. Endoscopic removal of fragments was attempted within the subsequent (ESWL) or the same (ILL) session. Failure was defined as failure to remove all ductal stones/fragments after a maximum of three lithotripsy sessions.

There were no statistical differences in background variables between the two groups. Bile duct clearance was achieved in 22 of 30 patients (73%) in the ESWL group and in 29 of 30 patients (97%) in the ILL group (p < 0.05). The number of treatment sessions (ESWL 3.0+/-1.3; ILL 1.2+/-0.4; p < 0.001) and the duration of treatment (ESWL 3.9+/-3.5 days; ILL 0.9+/-2.3 days; p < 0.001) were also significantly different in favor of ILL. Two minor complications occurred in each group; there was no 30-day mortality. Crossover therapy to ILL led to stone removal in seven of the eight cases in which ESWL failed, whereas ESWL fragmented the stone in the single patient in whom ILL failed.

ILL is more effective in the treatment of difficult bile duct stones than ESWL in terms of stone clearance rate and treatment duration.

To compare extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) and laser induced shock wave lithotripsy (LISL) of retained bile duct stones to stone free rate, number of therapeutic sessions, and costs.

Thirty four patients were randomly assigned to either ESWL or LISL therapy. The main reasons for failure of standard endoscopy were due to stone impaction (n = 12), biliary stricture (n = 8), or large stone diameter (n = 14).

An extracorporeal piezoelectic lithotripter with ultrasonic guidance and a rhodamine 6G laser with an integrated stone tissue detection system were used. LISL was performed exclusively under radiological control.

Using the initial methods complete stone fragmentation was achieved in nine of 17 patients (52.4%) of the ESWL group and in 14 of 17 patients (82.4%) in the LISL group, or combined with additional fragmentation techniques 31 of the 34 patients (91.2%) were stone free at the end of treatment. In comparison LISL tended to be more efficient in clearing the bile ducts (p = 0.07, NS). Significantly less fragmentation sessions (1.29 v 2.82; p = 0.0001) and less additional endoscopic sessions (0.65 v 1.6; p = 0.002) were necessary in the LISL group. There were no major complications in either procedure.

Compared with ESWL, fluoroscopically guided LISL achieves stone disintegration more rapidly and with significantly less treatment sessions, which leads to a significant reduction in cost.

Endoscopic management of common bile duct stones has become the approach of choice, especially in patients with high surgical risk. Problems are encountered if there are large stones or a duct stenosis. For these difficult stones, shock wave technology serves as an alternative to surgical intervention.

A total of 125 patients with common bile duct stones in whom conventional endoscopic treatment had failed were selected and treated either by extracorporeal piezoelectric lithotripsy (ESWL, n = 79) or intracorporeal electrohydraulic lithotripsy (EHL, n = 46). The average age of our patients was 70 years.

In the ESWL group visualization of the stones by ultrasound and ensuing treatment were possible in 71 out of 79 patients (90%); stones could be fragmented in 68 patients. The biliary tree could then be completely freed of calculi in 62 of 79 patients, a success rate of 78.5%. In the EHL group, stones were successfully fragmented in 38 of 46 patients; 34 patients (74%) eventually became stone free. Thirty-day mortality was zero in both groups. Combined treatment including ESWL, EHL, and intracorporeal laser lithotripsy was finally successful in 118 patients (94%).

Endoscopic management in combination with the lithotripsy techniques described can be recommended as the method of choice for treating difficult common bile duct stones. A success rate of almost 100% and a mortality rate of 0% is now the established standard, even in elderly and unstable patients.

Today, nearly 90% of common bile duct stones are extracted endoscopically. Problems are encountered if there are large stones or a duct stenosis. Extracorporeal piezoelectric lithotripsy (EPL) as well as intracorporeal electrohydraulic lithotripsy (EHL) serve as an alternative to surgical intervention for those few patients in whom endoscopic measures have failed. A total of 35 patients with common bile duct stones in whom conventional endoscopic treatment had failed were selected on the condition that stone visualization through ultrasound was possible and that the papilla was within easy reach of the endoscope. Patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria were randomly treated either by EPL or EHL. The average age of our patients was 73 years. The main reasons for failure of conventional endoscopy were due to the large size of the stones (13 patients), impacted stones (16), or the presence of a biliary stricture (6). In the EPL group, visualization of the stones by ultrasound and ensuing treatment were possible in 16 of 18 patients (89%); stones could be fragmented in 15 patients. In 13 patients, the biliary tree could then be completely freed of calculi; the success rate was 72% for all the patients (13 of 18). On average, the patients had 2.3 treatments on the lithotripter, and 3870 shock waves were applied per treatment. In the EHL group stones were successfully fragmented in 13 of 17 patients (76.5%). The average number of treatments was 1.4. Comparing both therapies, there was no difference in stone-free rates. In both groups, additional endoscopic interventions were necessary to clear the bile duct.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The introduction of laparoscopic cholecystectomy has resulted in increased options for the management of bile duct stones and has stimulated a fundamental reappraisal of the situation before the laparoscopic era. This article reviews the natural history of bile duct stones and details the different ways in which they may now be treated. New areas of controversy are highlighted and the need for further studies is emphasized.

From June 1991 to September 1992, 16 patients (mean age, 72 +/- 5 years) were treated with intra-corporeal laser lithotripsy (ICL). Thirteen patients had choledocholithiasis with at least one stone larger than 20 mm; 3 patients had intra-hepatic lithiasis. All other methods, including mechanical lithotripsy, extra-corporeal lithotripsy (1 case), and intra-corporeal electrohydraulic lithotripsy (1 case), had failed to clear the bile ducts. Approaches for ICL were choledochoscopy with a "baby" endoscope via an existing sphincterotomy (8 cases), retrograde cholangioscopy with a gastroscope through a choledochoduodenal anastomosis or a sphincterotomy in patients with a gastrojejunal anastomosis (5 cases), and trans-hepatic cholangioscopy with a fibercholangioscope (3 cases, in 1 of which retrograde and trans-hepatic approaches were combined). Free bile ducts were obtained in 14/16 (87.5%) patients after a mean of 1.66 ICL sessions per patient. Mortality and laser-related morbidity did not occur; endoscopy-related morbidity was 12.5% for minor complications (1 transitory fever, 1 mild and transitory hemobilia) and 6.25% for major complications (1 post-sphincterotomy hemorrhage). Mean length of hospital stay was 11.5 +/- 2.5 days. We conclude that although it is rarely indicated and is expensive, ICL does offer a limited treatment option in selected patients. It allows the complete relief of complex biliary lithiasis. Morbidity is related to maneuvers preceding ICL, not to ICL itself.

In urology the introduction of extracorporeal shockwave therapy brought a revolutionary change to the management of urinary calculi. This inspired the introduction of shockwave therapy in several fields of surgery; it has been applied as a potential alternative to several operative procedures but is still experimental. So far, the major application of shockwave therapy has been lithotripsy of stones in the gallbladder, common bile duct, pancreatic duct and salivary gland ducts. Other applications are in the non-operative management of bone healing disturbances and in the inhibition of tumour growth. Steps towards selective thrombus ablation and pretreatment of heavily calcified arteries have also been made. In this review, the applications of extracorporeal shockwave therapy in several areas of surgery are discussed. It is concluded that, for selected patients, shockwave treatment may serve as a useful addition to the surgical armamentarium.

Noninvasive or minimally invasive techniques for the treatment of biliary stones have been significantly advanced in the past two decades. The least invasive, extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy, continues to be used successfully, not only at its earliest reported site of use in Munich, Germany, but also in numerous other centers in the world. Lithotriptors that utilize a spark gap electrode or other sources of energy to generate sound waves and imaging by radiographic and ultrasonographic targeting of stones have proved to be effective in fragmenting biliary stones (90% to 95%) that are too large or otherwise inaccessible to removal by endoscopic papillotomy. Stone clearance (53% to 90%) may require successive treatments and the removal of debris by transendoscopic or surgical means. The mortality is low (0.5%), and the post-treatment course is relatively uncomplicated in an elderly, high-risk group of patients.

The surgical risk of common duct exploration for the treatment of biliary calculi is considerably higher than that of cholecystectomy. Therefore, introduction of endoscopic sphincterotomy in 1974 was a major advance. It has become the therapy of choice in cholecystectomized patients or in those with an increased operative risk. Endoscopic sphincterotomy has a mortality rate of around 1% and a morbidity rate of 7%. These figures compare favourably with open surgery, especially in old patients. The procedure fails in about 10% of all patients referred for endoscopic removal of their calculi. However, several techniques have been described or are currently under evaluation to overcome these failures: intracorporeal or extracorporeal lithotripsy, long-term stenting of the bile duct, or direct application of solvents. Long-term follow-up studies show that between 2% and 20% of successfully managed patients may develop recurrent stones, mainly caused by bile stasis and infection. Patients with a functioning gall-bladder and no concomitant gall-bladder stones probably do not require cholecystectomy after successful endoscopic treatment of their choledochal stones. While endoscopic stone removal has replaced surgery in the elderly frail patients it has no major advantages in the young and fit patients, especially when the gall-bladder is still in situ.

Endoscopic sphincterotomy with stone extraction is the non-surgical method of choice for treatment of choledocholithiasis in patients unfit for surgery or with previous cholecystectomy. Its success rate is 85-90%. Many adjunctive methods have been developed to increase the clearance rate after initial failure and are reviewed in this paper. Collaboration among the surgeon, endoscopist and radiologist offers the patient a high opportunity for successful clearance of common bile duct (CBD) stones with the least morbidity and mortality. The application of endoscopic sphincterotomy combined with laparoscopic cholecystectomy to younger patients is now debated.