Sequential endoscopic/laparoscopic management of cholelithiasis and choledocholithiasis in children who have sickle cell disease.

Background/purpose: Cholelithiasis and choledocholithiasis are common complications of sickle cell disease (SCD). With the recent advances in laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC), which has been used successfully for the management of cholelithiasis in children who have SCD, exclusion of choledocholithiasis before LC is of great importance.

Methods: Eighteen children who had SCD, cholelithiasis, and choledocholithiasis were treated at our hospital.

Laparoscopic versus open cholecystectomy in children.

Twenty-one consecutive laparoscopic cholecystectomies (LC) were compared with 29 consecutive open cholecystectomies (OC). Sickle-cell disease (SCD) was the most common reason for cholecystectomy in both groups. The average length of operative time for LC was significantly longer than that of OC (P=0.