Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiography

There are several surgical procedures done today to help improve the lives of people. One of those surgical procedures is a cholangiography. The cholangiography procedure was first performed in 1932, with the intention to demonstrate the biliary duct system, drainage into the duodenum, and any remaining stones in the biliary ducts (Bontrager & Lampignano, 2014). There are different types of cholangiography's including percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography (PTC), intraoperative cholangiography, magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Each of these procedures has the main focus of demonstrating the biliary ducts, but each procedure is done a little differently (MyDr, …show more content…
An ERCP is when contrast media is injected into the common bile duct and the pancreatic duct through a catheter. This catheter has to be placed in the correct anatomic structure, otherwise the contrast media will not be flushed through the biliary ducts or the pancreatic duct. X-rays are sometimes needed for the placement of the catheter before the contrast is injected. (Bontrager & Lampignano, 2014). The catheter is placed by the means of using an endoscope. The surgeon threads the endoscope with the catheter inside, down the patient's mouth, through the esophagus, into the stomach, and finally into the duodenum. Inside the duodenum, the surgeon will find the hepatopancreatic sphincter, which leads to the common bile duct and the main pancreatic ducts (Samuel, 2012.) Newer technology has allowed not only the surgeon to see the live video of the endoscope, but now has a transmitter to a monitor, so everyone in the room can see where the endoscope is going. Once the surgeon is content with the placement of the catheter, either the radiologic technologists can take an image or begin to inject (Bontrager & Lampignano,