Same-Session Clearance of Small Common Bile Duct Stones After Sphincterotomy Alone or With Adjunctive Extraction: A Single-Center Observational Study

The study compared the effectiveness of removing small bile duct stones (5 mm or smaller) using two approaches in 203 patients. The first group consisted of 47 patients who underwent endoscopic sphincterotomy alone, achieving a success rate of 44.7% (21 patients). The second group of 156 patients underwent sphincterotomy with adjunctive extraction using balloon and/or basket techniques, with a success rate of 83.3% (130 patients). The difference in success rates was statistically significant (risk ratio 1.87; P < 0.001). The mean age of patients was 58.62 years, with 44.3% being men. Intraprocedural bleeding occurred in 2 patients after sphincterotomy alone and in no patients after adjunctive extraction. However, the authors note that the study was not randomized and the groups differed in baseline characteristics.