Although benign biliary disease is an area in which many surgeons have experience, there are many nuances to providing the highest quality of surgical care. The biliary anatomy is unique but presents with anatomical variances and can be distorted by benign pathology. Biliary surgery has been one of the areas where minimally invasive techniques were first applied in the late 1980s. However, surgical technique has continued to evolve due to acquisition of advanced minimal surgical skills and improvement in surgical technology. The expertise, sage, and knowledge of the members of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgery (SAGES) have prioritized the creation of this manual on modern biliary surgery.This manual will provide the standard for the current state of biliary surgery in the 21st century. The SAGES Manual of Biliary Surgery will align with the new SAGES University Masters program. The Manual supplements the Masters Program Biliary Surgery Pathway. Its goal is to help the surgeon progress from the competent to the proficient and finally to the mastery level. Both for the surgical trainee and senior surgeon, this guidebook will also give insight into modern evaluation and management. The highlights will emphasize what is both feasible and safe from a minimally invasive approach in biliary surgery. The concept of Safe Cholecystectomy will be defined and expounded on in detail. The difficult cholecystectomy will be given ample coverage to include management of intraoperative bile duct injury, indications and techniques of subtotal cholecystectomy, and special attention to intraoperative diagnostic imaging that serve as adjuncts, including cholangiograpy, ultrasound, as well as indocyanine green biliary fluorescence. We will review the updated international Tokyo guidelines for acute cholecystitis. Furthermore, the evolution of treatment ofcholedocohlithiasis has evolved the most in recent years, and thus requires an extensive discussion of the non-operative and operative management of bile duct stones.This text will serve as an important contribution to the medical literature sponsored by SAGES, an international leading authority in gastrointestinal surgery with a keen interest in safe and proficient biliary surgery. Leaders in the field of biliary surgery will impart their insight and considerable experience in the chapters planned for this manual. The intent for this manual is to be the cited resource for high quality and applicable knowledge for the treatment of benign biliary disease.
