BACKGROUND: Most reports on the prognosis of cholecystectomy have been short-term studied, and few long-term reports have suggested variable incidences of common bile duct stones after cholecystectomy. We retrospectively reviewed the data to find the possible association between cholecystectomy and the subsequent occurrence of primary common bile duct stones.
METHODS: The data were reviewed retrospectively of 478 patients with primary common bile duct stones diagnosed and treated by endoscopic sphincterotomy at our hospitals between January 1994 and December 2003.
RESULTS: Sixty-one (14.1%) of the 432 patients had a history of cholecystectomy, with an incidence rate markedly higher than that in the general population. The mean interval between cholecystectomy and the occurrence of primary common bile duct stones was 8.23 years, with the longest being 28 years and the shortest 2 years. Compared with the patients who had not  undergone a prior cholecystectomy, those who had had a prior cholecystectomy more often accompanied with acute cholangiolitis (χ2=8.259, P<0.01), and multiple stones or sand-like stones were frequently found (χ2=9.030, P<0.01).
CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest a possible relationship between cholecystectomy and the subsequent occurrence of primary common bile duct stones. Perhaps patients with primary common bile duct stones who have had a prior cholecystectomy have a higher probability of infection of the biliary system. The infection may be one of the causes of occurrence of primary common bile duct stones after cholecystectomy.