Endoscopic ultrasound-assisted rendezvous maneuver to achieve pancreatic duct drainage in obstructive chronic pancreatitis

Patients with mechanical obstruction of the pancreatic duct, which can be caused by chronic pancreatitis, suffer from recurrent attacks of pain and inflammation of the pancreas. We report a novel approach using an endoscopic ultrasound- (EUS-) assisted rendezvous technique, which allows drainage of the pancreatic duct in patients in whom primary management by transpapillary drainage during an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedure has failed. Transgastric puncture of the pancreatic duct was performed using a 19-gauge needle under EUS guidance, and a 0.035-inch guide wire was introduced into the duct and advanced through the papilla. This wire was pulled into the duodenum using a side-viewing duodenoscope. A papillotomy was performed using the standard technique and a plastic prosthesis was introduced. The patient tolerated the intervention well and was discharged with no further complaints. EUS-assisted drainage of the pancreatic duct using a rendezvous technique is an elegant and feasible minimally invasive endoscopic treatment for symptomatic patients with chronic pancreatitis, in whom transpapillary introduction of a catheter is not possible.