[Endoscopic gallbladder stenting for acute cholecystitis]

Acute cholecystitis is an inflammatory disease of the gallbladder. Inflammation often remains in the gallbladder, but some patients may take a fatal course with exacerbation of inflammation. Although laparoscopic cholecystectomy is recommended for moderate and severe acute cystitis, sometimes cholecystectomy is impossible in elder patients. Because many elder patients have bad general conditions, cholecystectomy should not be performed. Such patients are generally treated by percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage (PTGBD), but PTGBD has the risk of intra-abdominal bleeding. In previous reports, endoscopic gallbladder stenting (EGBS) has been shown to be an effective strategy in cirrhosis patients with symptomatic cholelithiasis as a bridge to transplantation. Recent studies on EGBS have demonstrated an effective long-term management of acute cholecystitis in elderly patients who are poor surgical candidates. Here, we reviewed EGBS for the management of acute cholecystitis.