INTRODUCTION About 70% of well-differentiated endocrine tumors arise from the gastrointestinal tract. Duodenal well-differentiated endocrine tumors account for only 2.6% of all neuroendocrine tumors. Following the first two case reports of somatostatin-secreting tumors in 1977, fewer than 200 cases of somatostatinoma have been reported. These tumors of the duodenum are usually silent and asympt...

Recto-vaginal fistulae (RVF) are complex fistulae particularly difficult to treat. Their frequency is relatively low, representing less then 5% of anorectal fistulae.1 Obstetric injury is by far the most frequently reported cause of low recto-vaginal fistulae.2-5 The outcome after surgery for RVF has been correlated with aetiology, complexity of disease, sphincter function and prior attempts to...

We report a case of distal common bile duct adenoma presenting with acute cholangitis. A 47-year-old woman suffered from right upper abdominal pain with persistent fever for 4 days. Abdominal ultrasonography showed mild dilatation of common bile duct and bilateral intrahepatic ducts. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography disclosed a fixed filling defect in the distal common bile duct. ...

PURPOSE Despite advancements in gallbladder surgery with the introduction of endoscopic and laparoscopic techniques, many surgeons, especially in the developing world, still perform open cholecystectomy with common bile duct (CBD) exploration for choledocholithiasis. The purpose of the study is to report the outcomes of a case series of open CBD exploration without the use of T-tubes. MATERIA...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to investigate the appropriate measures for diagnosing and treating perineal endometriosis (PEM) with anal sphincter involvement. METHODS Between January 1992 and April 2011, the clinical features, diagnosis and management of 31 patients who were diagnosed with PEM with anal sphincter involvement at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital were retrospect...

BACKGROUND Cholangioscopy is a useful tool for the study and treatment of biliary pathology. Ultrathin upper endoscopes allow direct peroral cholangioscopy (DPC) but have some drawbacks. OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to evaluate the success rate of DPC with an ultrathin endoscope using a balloon catheter to reach the biliary confluence. MATERIAL AND METHODS Prospective observational st...

AIM To investigate the efficacy of prior minimal endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) to prevent pancreatitis related to endoscopic balloon sphincteroplasty (EBS). METHODS After bile duct access was gained and cholangiogram confirmed the presence of stones < 8 mm in the common bile duct at endoscopic retrograde cholangiography, patients were subjected to minimal EST (up to one-third of the size th...