E. Boriés

Endoscopic biliary stenting is the most common method of treating obstructive jaundice. We present a new technique of biliary drainage using endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and EUS-guided puncture of the common bile duct (CBD). A 56-year-old man with obstructive jaundice was referred for EUS and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) because a computed tomography (CT) scan had shown a pancreatic mass in the head of the pancreas and a dilated CBD. The patient was enrolled in a preoperative chemoradiotherapy protocol and biliary stenting was required. Deep cannulation was not obtained even after a precut and the procedure was stopped. Using a therapeutic EUS scope (FG 38X Pentax), the CBD was punctured with a 5-F needle-knife under EUS guidance and a cholangiogram was obtained. A 0.35-inch guide wire was introduced into the CBD. The EUS scope was removed and a duodenoscope was introduced, allowing the placement through the duodenum of a 10-F plastic stent. The CBD was drained properly. No complication occurred.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: It is well known that some diseases, such as cancer, lead to changes in the hardness of tissue. Sonoelastography, a technique that allows the elasticity of tissue to be assessed during ultrasound examination, provides the ultrasonographer with important additional information that can be used for diagnosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of endoscopic ultrasound elastography to differentiate between benign and malignant pancreatic masses and lymph nodes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: During a 12-month period, 49 patients underwent endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) examinations with elastography, conducted by a single endoscopist. Twenty-four patients underwent evaluation of a pancreatic mass (mean diameter 24.7 +/- 11.1 mm) and 25 underwent evaluation of 31 lymph nodes. The mean diameter of the lymph nodes was 19.7 +/- 8.6 mm, and they were found in the cervical area (n = 3), mediastinum (n = 17), celiac arterial trunk region (n = 5), and aortocaval region (n = 6). RESULTS: The sonoelastography images of pancreatic masses were interpreted as benign in four cases and malignant in 20. The sensitivity and specificity of sonoelastography in the diagnosis of malignant lesions were 100% and 67%, respectively. The sonoelastography images of the lymph nodes were interpreted as showing malignancy in 22 cases, benign conditions in seven, and indeterminate status in two. The sensitivity and specificity of sonoelastography for evaluating malignant lymph-node invasion were 100% and 50%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: EUS elastography is potentially capable of further defining the tissue characteristics of benign and malignant lesions but specifity has to be improved. It can be used to guide biopsy sampling for diagnosis.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) access to the biliary tract is sometimes impossible and percutaneous access has the disadvantages of increased morbidity and patient discomfort. We present our first results with an alternative technique: endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS)-guided transgastric biliary drainage. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 11 patients (7 men, mean age 64 years) were referred for failed ERCP and biliary obstruction (malignancy n = 8, benign conditions n = 3). The retrograde approach via the papilla had been impossible due to surgical anatomy, duodenal stenosis, and hilar stricture with occlusion of the left side. EUS-guided drainage was done with endoscopic and fluoroscopic monitoring. After puncture of the left biliary duct a guide wire was inserted into it followed by tract dilation using a cystostome. A plastic or a metallic stent was placed through this gastrobiliary fistula for bile drainage. RESULTS: EUS-guided left hepaticogastrostomy was successfully performed in 10/11 cases, with one failure of guide wire insertion after puncture. Plastic and covered metal stents were inserted in seven and three patients, respectively. Complications in the plastic stent group included one early occlusion requiring stent replacement, and one transient ileus. In the metallic stent group there was one bilioma and one cholangitis, due to stent shortening. Clinically, the stent was efficacious in all 10 cases; during a mean follow-up of 213 days (range 3-610), two patients presented with stent occlusion and one with stent migration, with successful endoscopic treatment in all. CONCLUSIONS: EUS-guided hepaticogastrostomy is an efficient technique and could be a future alternative to percutaneous biliary drainage or palliative surgical drainage.

A palliative hepaticogastrostomy was performed under endoscopic ultrasound guidance in a patient with inoperable hepatic hilar obstruction, creating an anastomosis between the dilated left hepatic duct and the stomach, to relieve symptoms of cholangitis and to allow biliary drainage. This therapeutic procedure was used as an alternative method of drainage of the biliary tree because endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography was not possible and because the percutaneous metallic stent which had been inserted earlier had become occluded (probably by tumor overgrowth). It was a two-step procedure. In the first step a hepatic duct was punctured through the gastric wall with placement of a plastic stent, which created a fistula between them. In a second step a covered, metallic, self-expandable stent was substituted for the plastic stent to maintain the anastomosis and to improve patency over the medium term. The patient's fever was relieved and the bilirubin level fell; the patient remained asymptomatic at the five-months-follow-up.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Treatment by endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) has been established for early lesions in Barrett's esophagus. However, the remaining Barrett's esophagus epithelium remains at risk of developing further lesions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of circumferential endoscopic mucosectomy (circumferential EMR)s in removing not only the index lesion (high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (HGIN) or mucosal cancer), but also the remaining Barrett's esophagus epithelium. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 21 patients were included in the study (11 men, 10 women), who had Barrett's esophagus and either HGIN (n = 12) or mucosal cancer (n = 9). Of the patients, 17/21 were at high surgical risk and five had refused surgery. On the basis of preprocedure endosonography their lesions were classified as T1N0 (n = 19) or T0N0 (n = 2). The lesions and the Barrett's esophagus epithelium were removed by polypectomy after submucosal injection of 10-15 ml of saline; a double-channel endoscope was used in 15/21 cases. Circumferential EMR was performed in two sessions, the lesion and the surrounding half of the circumferential Barrett's esophagus mucosa being removed in the first session. In order to prevent the formation of esophageal stenosis, the second half of the Barrett's esophagus mucosa was resected 1 month later. RESULTS: Complications occurred in 4/21 patients (19 %), consisting of bleeding which was successfully managed by endoscopic hemostasis in all cases. No strictures were observed during follow-up (mean duration 18 months) and endoscopic resection was considered complete in 18/21 patients (86 %). For three patients, histological examination showed incomplete removal of tumor: one of these underwent surgery; two received chemoradiotherapy, and showed no evidence of residual tumor at 18 months' and 24 months' follow-up, respectively. Two patients in whom resection was initially classified as complete later presented with local recurrence and were treated again by EMR. Barrett's esophagus mucosa was completely replaced by squamous cell epithelium in 15/20 patients (75 %). CONCLUSIONS: Circumferential EMR is a noninvasive treatment of Barrett's esophagus with HGIN or mucosal cancer, with a low complication rate and good short-term clinical efficacy. Further studies should focus on long-term results and on technical improvements.