Brief Articles
Copyright ©2009 The WJG Press and Baishideng.
World J Gastroenterol. Mar 21, 2009; 15(11): 1353-1358
Published online Mar 21, 2009. doi: 10.3748/wjg.15.1353
Table 1 Patient characteristics
Patient characteristicsCases (n)
Patients128
Male:female71:57
Peroral usage121
Percutaneous usage7
Diagnostic indications56 (44%)
Abnormal serum liver test15
Abnormal imaging studies38
Cholangiocarcinoma staging3
Therapeutic indications72 (56%)
Choledocholithiasis41
Pancreaticolithiasis6
Biliary strictures25
Table 2 Diagnostic Spyglass® indications
Diagnostic Spyglass® indicationsCases (n)
Abnormal imaging and elevated liver panel
Normal9
Malignancy9
Ductal ulcerations7
Lithiasis7
Extrinsic compression7
Benign polypoid lesions4
Total43
Biliary strictures
Diagnosis modified20/29
Diagnosis confirmed malignant10/23
Pre-operative diagnosis unknown17
Post-operative diagnosis malignant9
Post-operative diagnosis benign8
Table 3 Spyglass® evaluation of choledocholithiasis
Spyglass® evaluation of choledocholithiasisCases (n)
Indications for choledochoscopy
Large choledocholithiasis26
Mirizzi syndrome1
Intrahepatic lithiasis10
Lithiasis with bile duct strictures (also with intrahepatic lithiasis)11 (7)
Maneuverability
Intrahepatic peroral advancement without difficulty8/10
Percutaneous advancement6/6
Holmium laser usage3/3
Poor targeting of lesion with EHL4/41
EHL not advanced3/41
Overall visualization
Good31
Fair6
Poor4