Objective To evaluate the technique of transpancreatic septum precut for cannulation of inaccessible common bile duct in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Methods Data of 109 patients with difficult biliary cannulation in ERCP, of whom 56 underwent transpancreatic septum precut and 53 had needle-knife sphincterotomy from January 2006 to July 2008, were analyzed retrospectively, and the success rate of cannulation and the occurrence of complications were compared between the two methods. Results Of 109 patients accepted precut papillotomy, common bile duct cannulation was successfully achieved in 97. The success rates of transpancreatic septum precut group and needle-knife sphincterotomy group were 96.4% (54/56) and 81.1% (43/53) respectively, which was significantly different (P<0.05). Complications occurred in 11 cases, including bleeding(n =4), acute pancreatitis(n=5), cholangitis(n=2). The tolal frequency of complications of the transpancreatic septum pre-cut papillotomy group was lower than that of needle-knife sphincterotomy group(3.6% vs. 17.0%, P<0.05). Conclusion In patients with inaccessible bile ducts, transpancreatic septum precut is a safe and effective procedure in cannulation, exhibiting a higher success rate and lower occurrence of complication when compared with needle-knife sphincterotomy.

Objective To evaluate the influence of different cannulation technique in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopanereatography (ERCP) on success rate, risk of post-ERCP complication and operation time of the procedure. Methods The data of 120 patients who underwent ERCP from June 2000 to June 2008 because of biliary duct disorders were retrospectively studied. Conventional carmulation technique was applied in 60 patients and guide-wire eannulation was used in other 60. The success rate, total time of ERCP operation and the incidence of post-ERCP complications including acute pancreatitis and biliary system infec-tion within 7 days were assessed. Results Compared with conventional carmulation technique, selective can-nulation with a standard ERCP catheter under the assistance of guide-wire proved a higher success rate and a shorter operation time (P<0.05). Incidences of postoperative pancreatitis and infection with conventional cannulation were 10.0% (6/60) and 23.3% (14/60), respectively, while with guide-wire assisted cannu-lation were 3.3% (2/60) and 10.0% (6/60), respectively. No complication of bleeding was observed in either group. Conclusion Guide-wire assisted cannulation in ERCP can shorten operation time, improve success rate and reduce post-ERCP complications. Further evaluations are warranted.

OBJECTIVETo compare the safety and efficiency of transverse-incision peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) with longitudinal-incision POEM.

METHODSPOEM, with a transverse or longitudinal entry incision, was performed in 53 consecutive patients with confirmed achalasia (AC) between December 2010 and September 2012. Data of those patients was collected including the time spent for different procedures and complications.

RESULTSAll the 53 patients underwent POEM successfully, among whom 41 patients had a transverse entry incision and 12 had a longitudinal incision. Treatment success (Eckardt score≤3) with a follow-up for 3-24 months (median 5 month) was achieved in 96.2% of the cases (mean score pre-treatment vs. post-treatment: 7.5 vs 0.6, P<0.001). The whole operation time of transverse-incision group was slightly shorter than that of longitudinal-incision group (65.0∓18.0 min vs 74.1∓18.2 min, P=0.142), but it took much less time in tunnel built-up and muscle dissection in the transverse-incision group (36.3∓9.0 min vs 45.4∓10.5 min; 10.2∓4.6 min vs 15.5∓5.5 min, P<0.05). In addition, patients in transverse incision group were much less likely to develop pneumatosis- related complications [9.8% (4/41) vs 41.7% (5/12), P<0.05). No serious complications occurred in these two groups such as pleural effusion, mediastinitis or digestive tract fistula.

CONCLUSIONSPOEM with a transverse entry incision can significantly decrease the operation time and reduce the incidence of pneumatosis-related complications while obviously relieving the symptoms.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Endoscopy ; Esophageal Achalasia ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Tendons ; surgery ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo compare the safety and efficiency of endoscopic submucosal tunnel dissection (ESTD) and endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for large esophageal superficial neoplasms.

METHODSA total of 235 consecutive patients undergoing endoscopic resection for esophageal neoplasms between October, 2010 and June, 2013 in our endoscopy center were analyzed retrospectively. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 29 patients receiving ESTD or ESD for large esophageal superficial neoplasms were enrolled for data analysis.

RESULTSOf the 29 patients, 11 underwent ESTD and 18 received ESD. The dissection speed of ESTD was significantly higher than that of ESD (22.4∓5.2 mm(2)/min vs 12.2∓4.0 mm(2)/min, P<0.05). Despite a similar en bloc rate between the two groups (100% [11/11] vs 88.9% [16/18], P>0.05), the radical curative rate of ESTD was significantly greater than that of ESD (81.8% [9/11] vs 66.7% [12/18], P<0.05). No serious bleeding or perforation occurred in the patients except for 1 in ESD group with intraoperative bleeding, which was managed with hemostatic forceps. Eight patients had postoperative esophageal strictures in relation with circumferential extension and the longitudinal length (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONESTD is a safe and effective alternative for large esophageal superficial neoplasms with a shortened operative time, a higher dissection speed and a higher radical curative rate in comparison with ESD, but postoperative esophageal strictures should be closely monitored especially for lesions more than 3/4 of the circumferential extension or exceeding 50 mm.

Aged ; Endoscopy ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; surgery ; Esophagus ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mucous Membrane ; surgery ; Retrospective Studies