This guideline “ Guidelines on the management of common bile duct stones ”, on the diagnosis and treatment of patients with common bile duct stones (CBDS), was commissioned as part of a wider initiative to develop guidelines for clinicians in several areas of clinical practice. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) has become a widely available and routine procedure, whilst open cholecystectomy has largely been replaced by a laparoscopic approach, which may or may not includes laparoscopic exploration of the common bile duct (LCBDE).
In addition new imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance cholangiography (MR) and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) offer the opportunity to accurately visualise the biliary system without instrumentation of the ducts. As a consequence clinicians are now faced with a number of potentially valid options for managing patients with suspected…
