Gallstones are composed predominantly of cholesterol, bilirubin and calcium salts with lesser amounts of other constituents. The most popular classification system uses the relative amount of cholesterol as the main criterion and designates gallstones as being either cholesterol or non-cholesterol. The latter are further classified as black or brown pigment stones. A thorough preoperative anaesthetic evaluation was done and patient fitness for general anaesthesia assessed. A dose of antibiotics (usually a cephalosporin) was given 30 minutes before surgery. A nasogastric tube was inserted routinely. The most common indication for open cholecystectomy was symptomatic cholelithiasis (68%). In the laparoscopic group also cholelithiasis (76%) was the most common cause.