New role of the dual knife for precut papillotomy in difficult bile duct cannulation

The dual knife is usually used for endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). To date, however, there have been no clinical trials of the safety and effectiveness of precut papillotomy using the dual knife for biliary access in patients failing conventional endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) cannulation. We herein report 18 patients who underwent precut papillotomy with the dual knife. All had intact papilla, and had failed deep cannulation of the bile ducts. After successful biliary cannulation and standard endoscopic sphincterotomy, if necessary, stone removal or plastic or metal stent insertion was attempted. Selective bile-duct cannulation was achieved in all 18 patients (100%), at an average time of 4.2 min (range, 3-6 min). Of these 18 patients, six had malignant bile duct obstruction and 12 had common bile duct stones. One patient developed post-ERCP pancreatitis, which resolved after conservative management. There were no deaths related to the procedure.