The aim of this study was to evaluate the indications for laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) and laparoscopic choledocholithotomy (LCL) in patients with a past history of laparotomy (especially in the upper abdomen). Patients were divided into three groups [Group A: no abdominal operations, Group B: lower abdominal surgery, Group C: upper abdominal surgery]. No statistically significant differences were observed in a comparison of open ratio (%) [A: 3.2%. B: 3.0%. C: 4.2%], but there were significant differences in the comparisons of operation time (min) [A: 69.4±31.2. B: 64.6±24.8, C: 91.4±31.0] (p<0.001) and postoperative stay (day s) [A: 6.4±5.1, B: 6.9± 3.7, C: 9.4±5.6 (p<0.01 vs group A, p<0.05 vs group B). However, the clinical course of the patients with a past history of upper abdominal surgery was unaffected by the statistically significant differences in operation time and postoperative stay. Still more, there were no significant differences in relation with intraoperative complications in the three groups. The difficulty of the LC and LCL operations was mostly determined by the degree of inflammation of the cholecystitis. Therefore, patients with a history of upper abdominal surgery should not be excluded from the indications for LC and LCL. Thus, LC and LCL are extremely useful for patients with a history of laparotomy (especially in the upper abdomen).