Side-to-side choledochoduodenostomy in the management of choledocholithiasis.

Sixty patients with choledocholithiasis (either single or multiple stones of the biliary tree) were treated with lateral choledochoduodenostomy. Of these cases 83.3% were followed up for from 1 to 7 years. Only 1 patient developed cholangitis, which responded well to conservative treatment. The other cases have been asymptomatic following surgery. The diameter of the common bile duct is not an important problem in constructing a functional anastomosis.