Post-ERCP Complications in Dialysis Patients: Cutting One’s Losses or Expanding Possibilities?

Excerpt

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)-related procedures are used for the diagnosis and treatment of pancreatobiliary diseases. Endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) and endoscopic papillary balloon dilatation (EPBD) are used to treat choledocholithiasis. Although EST has been accepted as a standard technique for the dilatation of the bile duct orifice since it was firstly introduced, EST was associated with frequent complications. Thus, EPBD, which involves dilating rather than cutting the sphincter, has been investigated as an alternative technique for the preservation of papillary sphincter function and safer stone removal. …