Abstract:Objective：To explore the feasibilty of emergency hepatectomy in the treatment of hepatolithiasis. Methods：The clinical data of 24 patients with hepatolithiasis who underwent emergency hepatectomy and of 24 patients with hepatolithiasis who underwent secondary elective hepatectomy in our hospital from June 1992 to June 1999(emergency hepatectomy group) were retrospectively analyzed. Operative complications, mortality, efficacy of treatment, residual stone rate, days of hospitalization and medical expenses were compared between the two groups. Results：There were no significant differences in the rate of operative complications, operative mortality, excellent treatment result rate and residual stone rate between the two groups(all P>0.05). The days of hospitalization and medical expenses were markedly decreased(P<0.01) in the emergency hepatectomy group than those in the control group. Conclusions：For some strictly selected hepatolithiasis patients with severe complications, such as acute cholangitis, severe acute cholangitis, biliary hepatic abscess, obstructive jaundice and severe hemobilia, emergency hepatectomy may be considered to avoid reoperation.