We compared the first year's experience in performing laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a university hospital and a community hospital to determine the impact of postgraduate surgical training on outcome. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy was attempted on 446 patients. The conversion rate to open cholecystectomy was 8.3% and did not differ between institutions. Surgical house staff performed 43% of the cases at the university hospital compared with 8% at the community hospital. The greater use of laser and cholangiograms resulted in significantly longer mean operative time at the university hospital (141 +/- 26 min) than at the community hospital (114 +/- 52 min). The overall complication rate did not differ significantly (p = 0.15). Complications included common duct injury (three cases), bile leak (five cases), bleeding or hematoma (six cases), epigastric artery hematoma (one case), and death (one case). Operative inexperience during this first year may be a major determinant for the complication rates at both hospitals. It is too early to determine the impact of graduate surgical education on complications. Intense education and supervised instruction is requisite to minimizing the morbidity associated with laparoscopic cholecystectomy regardless of whether it is performed at a university or community hospital.