Endoscopic ultrasound guided biliary and pancreatic duct interventions

When endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatog-raphy fails to decompress the pancreatic or biliary system, alternative interventions are required. In this situation, endosonography guided cholangio-pancrea-tography(ESCP), percutaneous radiological therapy or surgery can be considered. Small case series reporting the initial experience with ESCP have been superseded by comprehensive reports of large cohorts. Although these reports are predominantly retrospective, they demonstrate that endoscopic ultrasound(EUS) guided biliary and pancreatic interventions are associated with high levels of technical and clinical success. The proce-dural complication rates are lower than those seen with percutaneous therapy or surgery. This article describes and discusses data published in the last five years relat-ing to EUS-guided biliary and pancreatic intervention.