Present status and future perspective of EUS-guided drainage

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Interventional Endoscopy
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• The development of convex array echoendoscopes has advanced interventional endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS).
• EUS enables minimally invasive procedures like EUS-guided drainage.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the benefits and applications of EUS-guided drainage.
• To compare EUS-guided drainage with conventional methods for pseudocyst and pancreatobiliary drainage.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing convex array echoendoscopes for interventional EUS procedures.
• Performing EUS-guided drainage for pseudocysts and pancreatobiliary issues.
• Employing ultrasonographic observation for real-time visualization of vessels and needle placement.

Main Results:

• EUS-guided pseudocyst drainage creates a fistula between the pseudocyst and the gastric or duodenal lumen.
• This method is superior to conventional endoscopic transmural drainage, reducing complications like bleeding due to enhanced visualization.
• EUS-guided drainage is effective for pancreatobiliary drainage when ERCP is unsuccessful.

Conclusions:

• EUS-guided drainage is a safe and effective alternative for pseudocyst and pancreatobiliary drainage.
• It offers advantages over conventional methods by minimizing complications through precise visualization.
• EUS-guided drainage may replace percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage and surgical treatments in select cases.