Current status of endoscopic ultrasound-guided antegrade intervention for biliary diseases in patients with surgically altered anatomy

Endoscopic management of biliary diseases in patients with surgically altered anatomy can be challenging because the altered anatomy makes it difficult to insert an endoscope into the biliary orifice. Even if insertion is feasible, the worse maneuverability of the endoscope and the restriction in available devices and techniques could complicate the procedure. Recently, endoscopic ultrasound-guided antegrade intervention (EUS-AG) has been reported as a useful management method for biliary diseases, especially in patients with surgically altered anatomy. In EUS-AG, the biliary disease is managed in an antegrade fashion through a temporal fistula created under EUS guidance between the intrahepatic biliary duct and upper intestine. In this article, we reviewed the current status of EUS-AG for each biliary diseases, malignant biliary obstruction, bile duct stones, and benign biliary stricture in patients with surgically altered anatomy.