Sphincterotomy-associated biliary strictures: features and endoscopic management.

Background: "Sphincterotomy stenosis" is a recognized late complication of endoscopic biliary sphincterotomy. The narrowing is limited to the biliary orifice and can be managed simply by repeat sphincterotomy. A similar but poorly characterized post-sphincterotomy complication involves narrowing that extends from the biliary orifice for a variable distance along the bile duct, beyond the duodenal wall.

A prospective study of the safety of endoscopic therapy for choledocholithiasis in an outpatient population.

Objective: Many centers routinely admit patients for observation after endoscopic therapy of choledocholithiasis although this is contrary to the current mandate for cost containment. The purpose of this study was to determine the safety, success, and complication rates of outpatient therapeutic ERCP in the management of choledocholithiasis.

Methods: Over a 4-month period, 97 consecutive outpatients undergoing endoscopic treatment for choledocholithiasis were enrolled in a prospective manner.

Endoscopic therapy of pancreatic stones.

This chapter provides an overview of the physiology of pancreatic exocrine function and the pathophysiology of pancreatic stone formation. The natural history and the clinical sequelae are reviewed. Potential pharmacologic intervention is addressed and a detailed description and analysis of the endoscopic management is outlined.

An unusual cause of acute renal failure: bilateral ureteral obstruction due to Candida tropicalis fungus balls.

Fungus balls have rarely been implicated as a cause of urinary tract obstruction. Approximately 50 cases of fungus balls of the urinary tract have been reported previously; the majority of cases were characterized by unilateral ureteral involvement or bladder involvement, and Candida albicans has been the organism most frequently isolated. We report, to our knowledge, the first case of bilateral ureteral obstruction caused by Candida tropicalis fungus balls.