Endoscopic transpancreatic for inaccessible obstructed papillary septotomy bile ducts: comparison with standard pre-cut papillotomy

Background: Access to the pancreatic or the bile duct is paramount to the success of diagnostic and therapeutic ERCP. Selective cannulation may be difficult because of the small size of the papilla and anatomic factors such as peripapillary diverticulum and gastrectomy with Billroth-II anastomosis. Currently, one of the techniques for gaining access in such cases is the pre-cut technique with a catheter that has a thin wire at the tip (needle knife). A less well-described pre-cut technique involves initial cannulation of the pancreatic duct with a "traction-type" papillotome and then incision through the "septum" toward the bile duct. The aim of this randomized trial was to compare the success and the complication rates of needle-knife sphincterotomy and transpancreatic sphincterotomy in achieving cannulation of an otherwise inaccessible bile duct. Methods: Sixty-three consecutive patients with inaccessible bile ducts underwent pre-cut sphincterotomy either by needle-knife sphincterotomy (n = 34) or transpancreatic septotomy (n = 29). In patients with an accessible pancreatic duct who undergo needle-knife sphincterotomy, a short (2-3 cm) stent (5F-7F) was placed in the pancreatic duct to act as a guide and to reduce the risk of post-procedure pancreatitis. All patients were hospitalized overnight for observation after pre-cut sphincterotomy. The outcomes measured were success rate and complications. Indications for pre-cut sphincterotomy were the following: suspected choledocholithiasis, 11 patients (17.5%); obstructive jaundice with negative CT findings, 19 patients (29.2%), or with positive CT findings, 13 patients (20.6%); abdominal pain with elevated biochemical tests of liver function, 15 patients (23.8%); and miscellaneous, 5 patients (7.9%). Results: In 55 of 63 (87%) patients, the bile duct was selectively cannulated after pre-cut sphincterotomy. On a pre-protocol basis, the bile duct was cannulated in 29 of 29 (100%) patients randomized to transpancreatic septotomy sphincterotomy and 26 of 34 (77%) patients who underwent needle-knife sphincterotomy (p = 0.01). There were 7 complications, including bleeding (n = 2) and acute pancreatitis (n = 5). Complications were less frequent in the transpancreatic septotomy sphincterotomy group (1/29; 3.5%) compared with the needle-knife sphincterotomy group (6/34; 17.7%). Conclusions: Transpancreatic pre-cut sphincterotomy can be performed with a high degree of success in patients with inaccessible obstructed bile ducts. Compared with standard needle-knife sphincterotomy, transpancreatic septotomy sphincterotomy has a significantly higher rate of bile duct cannulation and a lower complication rate.