RESUMEN
To study the risk of postoperative complications and technical failure to remove stones from common bile duct, 101 patients with symptomatic cholecystolithiasis andcholedocholithiasis and papillary obstruction due to stone or inflammatory process were randomized and considered in two groups: Group I (n = 50) underwent preoperative endoscopic papillotomy and open cholecystectomy in the same hospitalization; Group II (n = 51) underwent open cholecystectomy, common bile duct exploration, T-tube drainage and transduodenal papillotomy. Multivariate analysis showed that surgical team (p=0.032) was related to postoperative complications and greater hospitalization in the conventional surgery (Group II); surgical risk (p = 0.053) was related to systemic postoperative complications in the conventional surgery (Group II); distal choledochal stenosis (p = 0.014) was related to technical failure, complications and death in the preoperative endoscopic procedures (Group I). We believe that preoperative endoscopic papillotomy should remain the procedure of choice for common bile duct clearance in patients with comorbid illnesses and cholecystectomy and common bile duct exploration should be performed in no clinical risk patients.