Background: Patients with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) anatomy pose challenges when endoscopic
retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is required. Deep enteroscopy-assisted
ERCP can allow pancreaticobiliary intervention in these patients, but with limited
success. This case series describes endoscopic ultrasound-directed transgastric ERCP
(EDGE) for patients following RYGB.
Methods: Patients with RYGB anatomy undergoing EDGE at a tertiary care center were included
in this prospective single-arm feasibility study. All procedures were performed in
two stages. First a 16-Fr percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) was placed in
the excluded stomach using endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) guidance. Second, ERCP was
performed through the newly fashioned gastrostomy and a transcutaneous fully covered
metal esophageal stent.
Results: Six patients (5 women, 1 man) with RYGB anatomy underwent EDGE. EUS-guided PEG placement
was successful in all six patients (100 %). Antegrade ERCP was successful in all six
patients (100 %) with the stages being separated by a mean of 5.8 days. The mean procedure
times for the two stages were 81 minutes and 98 minutes. Two patients (33 %) had localized
PEG site infections that were managed with oral antibiotics. There were no adverse
events related to ERCP.
Conclusions: EDGE is both feasible and safe to perform in RYGB patients. Given the high success
rates of our recent experience, we suspect that this technique can be performed as
a one-stage procedure to provide a cost-effective, minimally invasive option for a
common problem in a growing patient population.