Topic Highlight
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jun 7, 2015; 21(21): 6460-6469
Published online Jun 7, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i21.6460
Innovations and techniques for balloon-enteroscope-assisted endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in patients with altered gastrointestinal anatomy
Hiroshi Yamauchi, Mitsuhiro Kida, Hiroshi Imaizumi, Kosuke Okuwaki, Shiro Miyazawa, Tomohisa Iwai, Wasaburo Koizumi
Hiroshi Yamauchi, Mitsuhiro Kida, Hiroshi Imaizumi, Kosuke Okuwaki, Shiro Miyazawa, Tomohisa Iwai, Wasaburo Koizumi, Department of Gastroenterology, Kitasato University Hospital, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-0375, Japan
Author contributions: Yamauchi H performed research and wrote the paper; Kida M, Imaizumi H, Okuwaki K, Miyazawa S, Iwai T and Koizumi W contributed critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content.
Conflict-of-interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Hiroshi Yamauchi, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, Kitasato University Hospital, 1-15-1 Kitasato, Minami-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-0375, Japan. yhiroshi@kitasato-u.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-42-7788111 Fax: +81-42-7788390
Received: January 19, 2015
Peer-review started: January 20, 2015
First decision: March 10, 2015
Revised: March 24, 2015
Accepted: May 7, 2015
Article in press: May 7, 2015
Published online: June 7, 2015
Core Tip

Core tip: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) remains challenging in patients with reconstructed intestine. Recently, many studies have reported that balloon-enteroscope-assisted ERCP (BEA-ERCP) is a safe and effective procedure. However, further improvements in outcomes and the development of simplified procedures are required. Various techniques have been proposed to facilitate scope insertion, cannulation, and treatment during BEA-ERCP. We discuss the current status of BEA-ERCP in patients with surgically altered gastrointestinal anatomy and introduce the techniques that are considered necessary in order to improve the outcomes.