An enquiry about liver, biliary and pancreatic surgery in Chile

Background: Chile has a high incidence of cholelithiasis and associated complications, that usually require surgical treatment. Aim: To carry out an enquiry about biliary diseases and their surgical treatment in public and private surgical services in Chile. Material and Methods: An enquiry about liver and biliary diseases and their treatment was designed and sent by electronic mail to 35 surgical services. Results: The enquiry was answered by 17 services. A total of 9.505 cholecystectomies were reported. Between 21 and 98% of the procedures were laparoscopic. Iatrogenic lesions of the biliary tree were reported in 0.3% (tithe procedures. Choledocolithiasis was found associated to cholelithiasis in 0 to 21% of procedures. However, the use of intraoperative cholangiography was incidental. The incidence of gallbladder cancer in cholecystectomies for cholelithiasis fluctuated between 0.2 and 8.9%. Liver metastases derived from colorectal cancer were the most common liver tumor operated. Hydatidosis was more common in southern Chile. Pancreatic excision was almost exclusively performed in Metropolitan Santiago. Conclusions: This information will allow the establishment of information and collaboration channels among the surgical services throughout Chile.