Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 3, 2026
Retroductal Nanoparticle Injection to the Murine Submandibular Gland
Published on: May 3, 2018
Wire-assisted access sphincterotomy of the minor papilla
John T Maple1, Rajesh N Keswani, Steven A Edmundowicz
1Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73117, USA. john-maple@ouhsc.edu
Background:
Recommended techniques for minor papilla sphincterotomy include performing a standard pull-type sphincterotomy (PTS) or using a needle-knife over a stent. A wire-assisted access sphincterotomy (WAAS) technique may hold some technical advantages over these accepted methods, but has not been robustly described.
Objective:
To describe the safety and efficacy of WAAS compared with PTS in a series of patients from our institution.
Design:
Retrospective audit of initial minor papilla sphincterotomies over a 6-year period. Demographic and procedural data were abstracted, and the medical record was reviewed for clinical follow-up.
Setting:
A large tertiary referral center.
Patients:
One hundred twenty-eight consecutive patients with pancreas divisum who underwent ERCPs between April 2001 and April 2007, 64 of whom underwent an initial minor papilla sphincterotomy.
Interventions:
WAAS was performed by deeply cannulating the dorsal duct with a guidewire and then passing a needle-knife sphincterotome alongside the wire and cutting the minor papilla by inserting the needle-knife beside the wire and cutting away from the wire.
Main Outcome Measurements:
Clinical procedural success and reported adverse events.
Results:
Thirty-two patients had recurrent acute pancreatitis, 15 had pain only, and 13 had chronic pancreatitis. Thirty-two underwent WAAS, 24 had PTS, and 8 had other types of sphincterotomies. Patients undergoing WAAS (32) versus PTS (24) were similar in age, sex, and procedural indication. Mild post-ERCP pancreatitis and mild intraprocedural bleeding occurred more commonly in the WAAS group, although the differences were not statistically significant.
Limitations:
Retrospective, nonrandomized study.
Conclusions:
WAAS is an effective technique that may be used either to begin a minor papilla sphincterotomy or to perform the entire sphincterotomy. Complications appear similar to those seen with conventional methods but require a larger patient sample to fully evaluate.
