[Current state and development of biliary tract surgery].

Status and Development of Biliary Tract Surgery: Diseases of the abdominal cavity are no longer the concern of the internist, general practitioner or surgeon alone. They belong in the hands of the gastroenterologist who are the symbiosis of general practitioner, internist and surgeon. This applies particularly to the wide range of diseases of the biliary tract. On the conservative side this means quick recognition of biliary tract diseases with inclusion of the neighboring organs in the diagnosis; conservative therapy of inflammatory or other additional diseases; establishing a condition suitable for operation and referring the patient to the surgeon before the gallbladder disease has become a biliary tract disease and the operative chances are destroyed by serious complications.