OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS Surgical intervention of the Eustachian tube (ET) has become increasingly common in the past decade, and balloon dilation has shown promising results in recent studies. It is unclear how balloon dilation enhances ET function. Our aim was to evaluate histological changes in the ET's mucosal lumen comparing before balloon dilation, immediately after, and postoperatively. S...

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS In patients with Crohn's disease, the idea of biodegradable stents for treatment of bowel strictures with limited effect of endoscopic balloon dilation is tempting and initial results have been promising. The aim of this study was to evaluate the technical and clinical success of biodegradable stents for treatment of inflamed Crohn's strictures refractory to endoscopic...

AIM To report data on Dilation-Assisted Stone Extraction (DASE) use in clinical practice and its efficacy and safety trough three Italian referral centers for biliopancreatic diseases treatment. METHODS From January 2011 to December 2015 we collected data on 120 patients treated with DASE. Technical success was obtained when the endoscopist was able to place the balloon trough the papilla inf...

Occasionally, bile duct strictures in patients who have undergone liver transplantation are impossible to traverse, dilate, and stent. Herein we present a novel technique for the dilation of a recalcitrant stricture using the Soehendra stent retriever device. A 57-year-old woman with a history of orthotopic liver transplantation presented to the emergency department with pruritus and right-uppe...

BACKGROUND Peripapillary choledochoduodenal fistula (PCDF) is occasionally detected during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. This study was designed to compare perioperative outcomes of the peripapillary choledochoduodenal fistula with bile duct stones via endoscopic papillary balloon dilatation and conventional endoscopic sphincterotomy. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed 28 p...

Background. Atherosclerosis has been associated with loss of artery wall distensibility in human cadavers and in experimental animal models, giving it the lay term "hardening of the arteries." Methods and Results. To assess the effect of calcification on arterial distensibility, balloon pressure and volume were recorded during dilation of calcified aortas in Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic (W...