Endoscopic sphincterotomy (ES) was attempted in 409 patients with common bile duct stone(s) (CBDS). The mean age of patients was 72.0 +/- 0.8 years (m +/- SEM); 47 p. 100 presented risk factors; 57 p.100 had previously been cholecystectomized while 43 p. 100 had not. On an average, patients in the former group were older (80 +/- 0.7 years) than in the latter 65.4 +/- 1.0 years, p less than 0.001). The procedure was successful in 98 p. 100 of the patients, after a standard ES in 78.5 p. 100 or after different technical artifices in 21.5 p. 100. The vacuity of the CBD was obtained in 96.5 p. 100 of the cases. During the first month after the ES, 13 p. 100 of the patients had complications and 4 p. 100 died; 37 complications (9 p. 100) were related to the ES and were responsible for death in 4 patients: 18 episodes of bleeding at the site of ES, 7 acute pancreatitis, 6 cholangitis, 4 retroperitoneal perforations and 2 other complications. The occurrence of these complications was closely related to the technique of ES being more frequent after technical artifices than after a standard ES (p less than 0.001). On the other hand, these complications occurred independently of the age of patients or of previous cholecystectomy. Seventeen complications (4 p. 100) did not depend directly on ES and were responsible for death in 14 patients (3 p. 100): pneumopathy, pulmonary embolism.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)