Transluminal bile duct stone removal via EUS-guided anastomosis has been reported as an alternative treatment technique for patients with failed stone removal under endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography guidance [1] and has… Click to show full abstract
Transluminal bile duct stone removal via EUS-guided anastomosis has been reported as an alternative treatment technique for patients with failed stone removal under endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography guidance [1] and has a lower likelihood of acute pancreatitis compared with antegrade transpapillary stone removal. [2-5] Although this procedure has clinical benefits, device insertion into the common bile duct is sometimes difficult because of anatomical variations in the curvature of the intrahepatic or common bile duct and can be complicated by stone migration into a bile duct branch if a balloon catheter is used during the procedure. A novel spiral basket catheter with a snake-shaped sheath (RASEN, KANEKA Medical, Osaka, Japan) designed to overcome these issues has recently become available in Japan [Figure
               
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