The importance of following a sound surgical technique for exploring the bile ducts and removing contained stones has recently been stressed by Allen1 and by Welch,2 and both authors have ably described and illustrated such procedures. Of the various instruments used for these operations, each has its limitations and usually leaves something to be desired.
Stones in the common bile duct may be removed with scoop or forceps, or, at times, fragmented and either irrigated out or forced through into the duodenum after dilatation of the sphincter of Oddi, not always a gentle or safe procedure. Calculi in the common hepatic duct present a greater problem, for any instrumentation may force the stone up into the right or left hepatic duct, and removal with a scoop or forceps may be difficult or impossible. Some surgeons feel that if the sphincter of Oddi is adequately dilated at operation, residual