The incidence and significance of bile leak after open cholecystectomy have been studied. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence and significance of postoperative bile leak associated with both emergent and elective laparoscopic cholecystectomies. One thousand four hundred patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy from July 1990 to January 1995 were retrospectively reviewed. Twenty-seven percent of laparoscopic cholecystectomies were performed urgently for acute cholecystitis. Diisopropyl-iminodiacetic acid (DISIDA) scan was used to determine the presence of a bile leak or obstruction. Also, a subgroup of 63 patients from March to May of 1992 was studied in a nonblinded prospective fashion to determine the rate of asymptomatic bile leak. The incidence of bile leak in the subgroup of 63 patients was 4.7% (n = 3). All of these bile leaks were asymptomatic and of no clinical significance. The incidence of bile leak in the remaining 1337 was 0.14% (n = 2). These bile leaks were discovered by DISIDA scan following a workup of atypical abdominal pain following laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Both of these patients underwent ERCP with papillotomy. There were no ductal injuries in the entire series. Symptomatic bile leaks following laparoscopic cholecystectomy are rare. Asymptomatic bile leaks occur infrequently and are of no clinical significance.