Endoscopic Ultrasound Biliary Drainage in Pancreatic Cancer

Abstract

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) guided biliary drainage (BD) is an accepted salvage procedure in patients with distal malignant biliary obstruction (DMBO) when endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is unsuccessful. The potential advantages of EUS-BD include gastric or duodenal biliary access, utilization of novel biliary stents and stent placement away from the area of stenosis, resulting in longer stent patency. These features make EUS-BD very appealing as a primary procedure for biliary drainage. There is a growing body of evidence supporting the utilization of EUS as a primary drainage procedure instead of ERCP, with comparable outcomes.