Spyglass, ¿es real y útil en nuestro medio?

Despite today’s high quality duodenoscopes, fluoroscopy equipment and x-ray equipment, a direct endoscopic view of the biliary tree and the pancreas is often required for the best diagnosis and treatment of a patient’s pathology. Initial experience with peroral cholangioscopy was very promising, but the enthusiasm for this technique quickly declined due to the extreme fragility and high cost of cholangioscopes and also because of the advent of new imaging techniques. As the result of recent technological advances in endoscopic equipment, cholangioscopy has undergone a number of changes that include development of stronger instruments that are smaller in diameter and which cost less than earlier versions.  Consequently, despite the fact that his is still considered to be an emerging technique, peroral cholangioscopy is increasingly being used as a very useful tool for diagnosis and treatment of various pancreatic and biliary diseases including cholangiocarcinoma, giant calculi, stenoses and small polyps. This article briefly reviews the topic, introduces new equipment and the advantages thereof, and focuses on highlighting the usefulness of this method for certain groups of patients as it is actually being implemented in Colombia over the last year ago with success