Balloon enteroscopy–assisted ERCP in patients with Roux-en-Y gastrectomy and intact papillae (with videos)

Background and Aims Balloon enteroscopy–assisted ERCP has provided a marked improvement in the success rate of reaching the papilla and consecutive ERCP procedures in patients with surgically altered anatomy in the Roux-en-Y reconstruction setting. However, limited data are available on the outcome of balloon enteroscopy–assisted ERCP in patients with Roux-en-Y anatomy who have naïve papillae. We retrospectively evaluated the feasibility of balloon enteroscopy–assisted ERCP in Roux-en-Y reconstruction after total or subtotal gastrectomy (RYG) with native papillae. Methods We performed 123 ERCP procedures in 109 patients with RYG. Among these patients, 90 consecutive ERCPs in 90 patients with native papillae were included. When selective biliary cannulation failed, the double-guidewire technique, the precut technique, or the rendezvous technique were performed as advanced cannulation methods. Results The overall success rate of reaching the papilla was 93.5% (115/123). The total procedure success rate was 88.1% (96/109). The adverse event rate was 7.3% (8/109). The success rate of the standard cannulation of the intact papilla was 67.8% (61/90). The final cannulation success rate was 95.6% (86/90) by using advanced cannulation methods. Conclusions Standard cannulation of the intact papilla in RYG cases remains challenging and uncertain. The use of various advanced cannulation methods improves the deep cannulation rate. Once selective cannulation succeeds, the treatment success rate is very high. Balloon enteroscopy–assisted ERCP has provided a marked improvement in the success rate of reaching the papilla and consecutive ERCP procedures in patients with surgically altered anatomy in the Roux-en-Y reconstruction setting. However, limited data are available on the outcome of balloon enteroscopy–assisted ERCP in patients with Roux-en-Y anatomy who have naïve papillae. We retrospectively evaluated the feasibility of balloon enteroscopy–assisted ERCP in Roux-en-Y reconstruction after total or subtotal gastrectomy (RYG) with native papillae. We performed 123 ERCP procedures in 109 patients with RYG. Among these patients, 90 consecutive ERCPs in 90 patients with native papillae were included. When selective biliary cannulation failed, the double-guidewire technique, the precut technique, or the rendezvous technique were performed as advanced cannulation methods. The overall success rate of reaching the papilla was 93.5% (115/123). The total procedure success rate was 88.1% (96/109). The adverse event rate was 7.3% (8/109). The success rate of the standard cannulation of the intact papilla was 67.8% (61/90). The final cannulation success rate was 95.6% (86/90) by using advanced cannulation methods. Standard cannulation of the intact papilla in RYG cases remains challenging and uncertain. The use of various advanced cannulation methods improves the deep cannulation rate. Once selective cannulation succeeds, the treatment success rate is very high.