LAUSR

Background and Objectives: EUS-guided hepaticogastrostomy (EUS-HGS) is in widespread use; however, there are few dedicated devices. The B2 route is technically easier than the B3 route for guidewire insertion, dilation, and stenting but if performed with conventional oblique-viewing (OV) EUS, B2 puncture can cause transesophageal puncture and severe adverse events. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of forward-viewing (FV) EUS, which we have developed to improve safety for B2 puncture in EUS-HGS (B2-EUS-HGS). Patients and Methods: This single-center retrospective study included 61 consecutive patients who underwent B2-EUS-HGS with FV between February 2020 and March 2021 at Aichi Cancer Center, Japan. The patients were prospectively enrolled, and clinical data were retrospectively collected for these 61 cases. Results: The overall technical success rate of EUS-HGS was 98.3% (60/61). The rate of EUS-HGS with FV was 95.0% (58/61) after three cases converted to OV, and that of B2-EUS-HGS with FV was 88.5% (54/61). The early adverse event rate was 6.5% (4/61). There were no instances of transesophageal puncture. Median procedure time was 24 min (range, 8–70), and no patient required cautery dilation. Conclusions: B2-EUS-HGS can be performed safely using FV, without transesophageal puncture, and supportability of the device is improved as FV is coaxial with the guidewire. FV was efficacious in B2-EUS-HGS, which shows promise for clinical application in the future.