Study population
THORACIC
Patients who were scheduled for an operation with a BEA at the Department of Visceral, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery at University Hospital Dresden between 21 January 2016 and 20 September 2017 were screened for inclusion into the trial. Eligible patients were 18 years or older and met the following inclusion criteria: planned elective BEA, diameter of the CBD of at least 7 mm, and providing written informed consent. Exclusion criteria were previous BEA procedures, impaired mental state, language barrier, lack of compliance, and emergency procedures.