[CHOLECYSTITIS AND CHOLELITHIASIS IN CHILDREN].

Cholecystitis and cholelithiasis in children would appear to be a rare surgical finding; however, the authors have encountered 15 cases. Although in approximately half the children with this condition the symptomatology is sufficient to draw attention to the biliary tract, in the other half the presence of periumbilical or right lower quadrant abdominal tenderness can easily be misleading. Only by considering the use of cholecystography will one be in a position to make a diagnosis of cholelithiasis in these latter cases. Among the possible causally associated factors in the adult, sex (female) and obesity alone may be applicable in children. Cholecystectomy with peroperative cholangiography is the treatment of choice, even though the occurrence of migratory calculi in the common bile duct is exceptional.