A survey of the timing and approach to the surgical management of cholelithiasis in patients with acute biliary pancreatitis and acute cholecystitis in the UK

Abstract

The management of cholelithiasis in patients with acute biliary pancreatitis in the UK remains suboptimal. Moreover, only a minority of surgeons offer patients presenting with acute cholecystitis the benefits of early laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The management of acute biliary disease may be improved if these cases were concentrated in the hands of surgeons with upper gastrointestinal/hepato-pancreato-biliary interest and those who perform laparoscopic cholecystectomy regularly.