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Home > Pancreas Diseases and Treatments > Diseases of the Pancreas > Pancreatic Cancer > Detection and Diagnosis > Diagnostic Imaging Studies
Diagnostic Imaging Studies
Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
How it works: ERCP allows the physician to visualize the bile and pancreatic ducts. The study is most often performed when a patient exhibits symptoms of jaundice, which can indicate presence of a mass narrowing or blocking the ducts.
Like EUS, ERCP is an outpatient procedure involving an endoscope - a long, thin, lighted tube passed through the mouth, through the stomach, and into the duodenum. To conduct the procedure, a tube called a catheter is threaded through the endoscope and directly into the pancreatic and bile ducts. Dye is injected through the catheter and into the ducts and then an X-ray is taken.
If a blockage, or stricture, is found, the physician can intervene by placing a stent into the obstructed duct. A stent is a device that helps hold the duct open to allow bile and pancreatic juices to flow properly.
What to expect: As with EUS, during the ERCP procedure, you will be positioned on your side and placed under heavy conscious sedation.
Considerations: Due to the sedation, you will not be able to drive yourself home after the procedure and should arrange for someone to pick you up. About 5-7% of patients experience pancreatitis after ERCP. While in most cases the pancreatitis is mild, serious pancreatitis can occur. Gastrointestinal bleeding, infection, and adverse reactions to the sedative anesthesia are other, rare complications associated with ERCP. Some patients may be allergic to the contrast dye used to visualize the ducts. If you have any known allergies to contrast dyes, iodine, or shellfish, you should alert your physician before undergoing the procedure.
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