Endoscopic Papillotomy for Choledocholithiasis

ENDOSCOPIC retrograde cholangiopancreatography has been widely accepted as a diagnostic tool in pancreatic and biliary-tract disease.1 2 3 The ability to define ductal anatomy and pathology and to pass instruments through the endoscope into the biliary tree has stimulated the development of technics for endoscopic biliary-tract surgical procedures.4 5 6 7 8 The patient with choledocholithiasis described below was treated with endoscopic electrosurgical papillotomy. Case Report A 46-year-old man was admitted to the Manhattan Veterans Administration Hospital with right-upper-quadrant abdominal pain of five days' duration. He had had multiple previous hospitalizations for recurrent acute pancreatitis, duodenal ulcer and delirium tremens. Physical examination revealed a thin man . . .