A survey of the current surgical treatment of gallstones in Queensland

Background: To survey the current practice of general surgeons in Queensland in their management of patients with gallstones. Methods: A postal survey of 123 surgeons practising in Queensland. Results: There were 114 responses to the questionnaire (92.7%) and seven were excluded from the analysis. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) was preferred by 97.2% and operative cholangiography was almost always attempted by 82.3%. One-third of surgeons used drains routinely. In cases of acute cholecystitis, 56 surgeons (52.3%) favoured laparoscopic cholecystectomy on the same admission. Operative cholangiography (OC) was almost always attempted by 64.8% of surgeons during acute laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Only 3.8% of surgeons frequently offered day case surgery and 51% never offered it. Conclusions: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the treatment of choice of nearly all Queensland surgeons in the elective and acute situations. Routine operative cholangiography is favoured by the majority of surgeons. Day case surgery is presently offered by a minority of surgeons.