Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Gallbladder Drainage: Current Perspectives

Abstract

According to the recently updated Tokyo Guidelines, laparoscopic cholecystectomy still represents the gold standard for the treatment of acute cholecystitis. However, fragile patients, due to comorbidities or poor clinical conditions, have a high surgical risk. In such cases, percutaneous or endoscopic gallbladder drainage is considered the treatment of choice. In particular, endoscopic ultrasound-guided gallbladder drainage with the placement of specifically designed stents is now considered an alternative option. In addition, the opening of an access door to the lumen of the gallbladder could offer new opportunities for the endoscopic treatment of gallbladder diseases. The purpose of this review is to provide an update on the latest available evidence in the literature regarding the endoscopic ultrasound-guided gallbladder drainage.

Keywords:

• endoscopic ultrasound-guided gallbladder drainage
• lumen-apposing metal stent
• acute cholecystitis
• percutaneous gallbladder drainage; cholecystostomy

Acknowledgments

The Authors thank Dr Annalisa Cappello for the graphic representation of gallbladder drainage procedures.

Disclosure

Dr Andrea Anderloni reports personal fees from Boston Scientific, personal fees from Olympus, personal fees from Medtronic, outside the submitted work. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.