Abstract:Background and Aims Laparoscopic transcystic common bile duct exploration (LTCBDE) has been reported to be safe and effective in elective surgery, but its efficacy in emergency surgery has not been established. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the safety and feasibility of emergency LTCBDE in the treatment of patients with cholecystolithiasis complicated with choledocholithiasis.Methods The clinical data of 87 patients with gallbladder stones and concomitant common bile duct stones who underwent LTCBDE in Hefei Second People's Hospital from January 2016 to October 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Of the patients, 37 cases underwent emergency LTCBDE (emergency group), and 50 cases underwent elective LTCBDE (elective group). The general baseline data, and perioperative variables and follow-up results between the two groups of patients were compared.Results There were no significant differences in baseline data between the two groups of patients (all P>0.05). No open conversion was needed in both groups, and laparoscopic surgery was successfully performed in all cases. Of the 87 patients, LTCBDE was successfully completed in 72 case, and 15 cases were converted to conventional laparoscopic common bile duct exploration with primary closure after failure of LTCBDE. LTCBDE was successfully completed in 29 cases (78.4%) in emergency group and 43 cases (86.0%) in elective group, respectively, and there was no statistical difference in exploration success rate between the two groups (P=0.352). In emergency group compared with elective group, the operative time was prolonged (P=0.015) and intraoperative blood loss was increased (P=0.014), while all other perioperative variables showed no statistical difference (all P>0.05). Complications occurred in 6 patients in the two groups, including 4 cases in emergency group (2 cases of bile leakage, 1 case of abdominal fluid collections and 1 case of retained stones) and 2 cases in elective group (2 cases of bile leakage). There were no significant differences in the overall incidence of complications and incidence of each specific complication between the two groups (all P>0.05).Conclusion Emergency LTCBDE has the comparable efficacy to elective LTCBDE. On the premise of appropriate selection of patients, emergency LTCBDE is safe and effective in the treatment of patients with gallbladder stones and concomitant common bile duct stones.