Background : Gallstone disease remains to be one of the most common reasons for surgical admission. The risk of acquiring this disease increases with age, and is associated with a myriad of factors such as obesity, diabetes mellitus, and cirrhosis. Symptoms may range from mild abdominal pain to debilitating condition such as sepsis. Surgical management of gallstone disease has evolved over time, and currently, methods such as laparoscopic cholecystectomy, common bile duct exploration and endoscopic retrograde procedures play major roles in the treatment of gallstone disease.

Methods : In this study, outcomes between two methods of common bile duct repair were compared – primary repair versus T-tube choledochostomy. This was a randomized controlled trial done from 2019 to 2023 done in Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center.

Results : A total of fifty participants were included in the study, and were divided into two groups: primary repair and T-tube choledochostomy. Results showed that primary repair is comparable with T-tube choledochostomy, making it a better option since it has additional benefits of patient comfort and improved quality of life.

Conclusions : With this study, we can conclude that primary repair of the common bile duct after exploration is safe and comparable to T-tube choledochostomy in terms of short-term postoperative complications. Primary repair has the advantage of better overall patient satisfaction because of better patient comfort and faster return to work. With the inclusion criteria in this study, we can now adapt primary repair after common bile duct exploration in select patients for the section of Hepatobiliary Surgery.