Gastrointestinal endoscopy in the pregnant woman

Figure 1 Intraductal ultrasound reveals a gallstone (labeled gallstone) in the common bile duct exhibiting acoustic shadowing (3 parallel arrows) in a middle-aged female patient presenting acutely with right upper quadrant pain, hyperbilirubinemia, and elevated aspartate and alanine aminotransferase levels. During pregnancy, endoscopic ultrasound provides a method to diagnose common bile duct stones without exposing the fetus to the risks of ionizing radiation from endoscopic retrograde cholangiography. US probe: Ultrasound probe; GS: Gallstone.