Endoscopic treatment of malignant gastrointestinal obstruction provides an adequate palliation of the symptoms. It is less invasive, avoids the morbidity associated with open gastrojejunostomy, and achieves a faster start to oral food and a shorter hospital stay, leading to a higher quality of life.

Background and aim:This article provides a practical review to undertaking safe endoscopic ampullectomy and highlights some of the common difficulties with this technique as well as offering strategies to deal with these challenges.Methods: We conducted a review of studies regarding endoscopic ampullectomy for ampullary neoplasms with special focus on techniques.Results: Accurate preoperative diagnosis and staging of ampullary tumors is imperative for predicting prognosis and determining the most appropriate therapeutic approach. The optimal technique for endoscopic ampullectomy is dependent on the lesions size. En bloc resection is recommended for lesions confined to the papilla. There is no significant evidence to support the submucosal injection before ampullectomy. There is no consensus regarding the optimal current and power output for endoscopic ampulectomy. The benefits of a thermal adjunctive therapy remain controversial. A prophylactic pancreatic stent reduces the incidence and severity of pancreatitis post-ampullectomy.Conclusions: Endoscopic ampullectomy is a safe and efficacious therapeutic procedure for papillary adenomas in experienced endoscopist and it can avoid the need for surgical intervention.

Gastric bypass is a treatment option for morbid obesity. Stenosis of the gastrojejunal anastomosis is a recognized complication. The pathophysiological mechanisms involved in the formation of stenosis are not well known. Gastrojejunal strictures can be classified based on time of onset, mechanism of formation, and endoscopic aspect. Diagnosis is usually obtained by endoscopy. The two main treatment alternatives for stomal stricture are: endoscopic dilatation (balloon or bouginage) and surgical revision (open or laparoscopic). Both techniques of dilation [through-the-scope (TTS) balloon dilators, Bougienage dilators] are considered safe, effective, and do not require hospitalization. The optimal technique for dilation of stomal strictures remains to be determined, but many authors prefer the use of TTS balloon catheters. Most patients can be successfully treated with 1 or 2 sessions. The need for reconstructive surgery of a stomal stricture is extremely rare.

The treatment of choice for patients with unresectable neoplastic obstruction of the small intestine is the placement of expandable metal stents. However, endoscopic delivery from the distal duodenum can be more difficult. This case, shows the usefulness and technical advantages of the overtube and single balloon enteroscopy in the treatment of neoplastic stenosis affecting the small intestine.

Aim: due to surgery´s high mortality and morbidity, local therapeutic techniques are required for Barrett's high-grade dysplasia (BHGD) and early gastric cancer (EGC). Various techniques are available for endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) in the GI tract. The ''suck and cut'' technique, which uses a transparent cap or modified multiband variceal ligator, is usually the most practiced method. A multiband ligator (ML) allows sequential resection without the need for submucosal injection and endoscope withdrawal. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of EMR with a ML device in the treatment of Barrett's high-grade dysplasia and early gastric cancer. Patients and methods: prospective study. Eight consecutive patients (4 men; median age, 62 years; range 38-89 years) with BHGD (4) or EGC (4) were treated. EMR was performed with a multiband ligator in order to create a pseudopolyp and then permit snare polypectomy of flat mucosal lesions. The pseudopolyp was resected by using pure coagulating current. No submucosal saline injection was administered before resection. Results: a total of 8 consecutive patients were treated with the multiband ligator (ML) technique. Barrett's esophagus (BE): one patient with long BE received 3 EMR sessions. Three patients presented with short BE and received 1 EMR session each. The histology of the EMR specimens confirmed a moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma with submucosal infiltration (1 patient) and BHGD (3 patients). Early gastric cancer (EGC): 3 patients had EGC (type IIa) and 1 patient had high-grade dysplasia. EMR was accomplished in 1 session for each patient. The histology of EMR specimens confirmed a mucinous adenocarcinoma with submucosal infiltration (1 patient), EGC (2 patients), and HGD (1 patient). Complications (mild esophageal stenosis, minor bleeding) occurred in 2 patients. Conclusions: EMR has diagnostic and therapeutic implications, and represents a superior diagnostic modality as compared to traditional biopsy. By means of EMR the resected mucosa is pathologically examined, and the lesion may be appropriately treated. EMR-ML is a safe and effective technique for the treatment of superficial lesions of the digestive tract, and is accepted as an alternative to surgical therapy for non-invasive lesions. Longterm follow-up is needed to determine the clinical impact of this method.

Papillary dilation with a large balloon is an effective, safe, and easy technique for the retrieval of difficult common bile-duct stones. The procedure neither adds time to the exploration, nor increases complications, and obviates the need for mechanical lithotripsy in a majority of patients.

Endoscopic resection (ER) is at present an accepted treatment for superficial gastrointestinal neoplasia. ER provides similar efficacy to surgery; however, it is minimally invasive and less expensive. Endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) is superior to biopsy for diagnosing advanced dysplasia and can change the diagnostic grade and the management. Several EMR techniques have been described that are alternatively used dependent upon the endoscopist personal experience, the anatomic conditions and the endoscopic appearance of the lesion to be resected. The literature suggests that EMR offers comparable outcomes to surgery for selected indications. EMR techniques using a cap fitted endoscope and EMR using a ligation device [multiband mucosectomy (MBM)] are the most frequently use. MBM technique does not require submucosal injection as with the endoscopic resection-cap technique, multiple resections can be performed with the same snare, pre-looping the endoscopic resection-snare in the ridge of the cap is not necessary, MBM does not require withdrawal of the endoscope between resections and up to six consecutive resections can be performed. This reduces the time and cost required for the procedure, while also reducing patient discomfort. Despite the increasing popularity of MBM, data on the safety and efficacy of this technique in upper gastrointestinal lesions with advanced dysplasia, defined as those lesions that have high-grade dysplasia or early cancer, is limited.

Background and aim:This article provides a practical review to undertaking safe endoscopic ampullectomy and highlights some of the common difficulties with this technique as well as offering strategies to deal with these challenges.Methods: We conducted a review of studies regarding endoscopic ampullectomy for ampullary neoplasms with special focus on techniques.Results: Accurate preoperative diagnosis and staging of ampullary tumors is imperative for predicting prognosis and determining the most appropriate therapeutic approach. The optimal technique for endoscopic ampullectomy is dependent on the lesions size. En bloc resection is recommended for lesions confined to the papilla. There is no significant evidence to support the submucosal injection before ampullectomy. There is no consensus regarding the optimal current and power output for endoscopic ampulectomy. The benefits of a thermal adjunctive therapy remain controversial. A prophylactic pancreatic stent reduces the incidence and severity of pancreatitis post-ampullectomy.Conclusions: Endoscopic ampullectomy is a safe and efficacious therapeutic procedure for papillary adenomas in experienced endoscopist and it can avoid the need for surgical intervention.