Cardiac transplant is performed with increasing frequency as the treatment for end-stage cardiac disease. Although cholelithiasis is more frequent in both pretransplant and posttransplant patients, no standard management approach exists. Because many such patients are cared for outside the transplant center, it is important that general surgeons develop an appropriate strategy to manage this entity. We present our experience with 11 patients from our institution who underwent cholecystectomy before or after cardiac transplantation. In addition, we have reviewed the 76 reported cases of cholecystectomy performed in precardiac or postcardiac transplant patients from centers throughout the world. Any procedure in this patient group requires critical consideration in regard to the timing and type of procedure. Pretransplant patients are well recognized cardiac risks, and posttransplant immunosuppressed patients are at considerable risk for septic complications. Six patients underwent cholecystectomy prior to heart transplant. Five were performed laparoscopically, one as an open procedure. We also report five laparoscopic cholecystectomies in patients after cardiac transplant. One patient in the pretransplant group died 7 days after surgery from an uncontrollable arrhythmia. There were no hemodynamic or septic complications in either group. Current summated experience (87 cases) indicates that the mortality rate for urgent cholecystectomy in the posttransplant group is at least 36%. Because the first presentation of gallstones in this population is often acute cholecystitis, asymptomatic calculi cannot be considered benign. Elective cholecystectomy, laparoscopic or open, is tolerated well both before and after transplant. Given these facts, it seems reasonable to recommend pretransplant screening and posttransplant surveillance for gallstones.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)