Nonoperative treatment of biliary tract disease.

The rise of minimally invasive surgical techniques during the past 20 years has been one of the more dramatic developments in modern medicine. Minimally invasive procedures are now widely accepted for treatment of diseases involving many different organ systems. Minimally invasive procedures may be more common and more accepted in the treatment of diseases of the biliary tract than in any other area. The development of laparoscopic cholecystectomy serves as a benchmark for minimally invasive procedures, and it is now the standard of care for the treatment of cholelithiasis. Today, not only is laparoscopic cholecystectomy one of the most common operations performed in the United States, but many new techniques have been developed that allow minimally invasive treatment of a variety of biliary tract diseases. The development of nonoperative techniques for treatment of biliary tract disease has accompanied the rapid developments in minimally invasive surgical techniques. This article describes the nonoperative treatment of biliary tract disease.