Gallstones

Abstract

About 10-15% of the adult Western population will develop gallstones, with between 1% and 4% a year developing symptoms. 1 From April 2005 to March 2006, 49 077 cholecystectomy procedures took place in England, 2 a 10th of the number of procedures in the United States. 3 The management of gallstone disease is changing rapidly, with an increase in day case surgery and in cholecystectomy during the index admission for cholecystitis and with the advent of natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery.