SAGES 2005 Annual Meeting
The introduction of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) in the late 1980s ushered in the era of minimally invasive general surgery. Since then, it has become the preferred approach for cholecystectomy. During the initial years of LC, when surgeons were in the "learning curve" of the procedure, there was a significant increase in bile duct injuries (BDIs) compared with open cholecystectomy. However, most surgeons are now past their learning curve, and many consider LC to be a "basic" laparoscopic procedure. Nevertheless, with the current incidence of BDIs as high as 1.4%, these injuries continue to be very morbid complications that have significant legal and financial implications.

This year, The Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) in conjunction with the American Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (AHPBA) and the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT) presented a "Forum on Biliary Injuries." A panel of international experts reviewed the avoidance, recognition, and management of LC-associated BDIs. The session was moderated by Nathaniel Soper, MD, Professor of Surgery, Feinberg School of Medicine Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, and W. Scott Helton, MD, Professor of Surgery, University of Illinois at Chicago.