The rotary gallstone lithotrite to aid gallbladder extraction in laparoscopic cholecystectomy

During laparoscopic cholecystectomy, a large stone burden may cause difficulty when extracting the gallbladder through the abdominal wall. Currently, the alternatives available to the surgeon include increasing the incision, removing stones singly, or utilizing complex fragmentation techniques like the pulsed dye laser [1]. We have employed an electromechanical rotary gallstone lithotrite (RGL) to fragment stones to an aspiratable size.