Practice Patterns of Endoscopists Performing Endoscopic Gallbladder Drainage
The standard of care for treatment of patients with acute cholecystitis is cholecystectomy. However, many patients are unfit for surgery due to substantial medical comorbidities or surgery is technically challenging due to anatomic considerations. Options for patients who are not surgical candidates include percutaneous cholecystostomy tube placement by interventional radiology, endoscopic gallbladder drainage or conservative management. Over the last decade, techniques of endoscopic gallbladder drainage (EGBD) have been employed for temporary or definitive gallbladder drainage in acute cholecystitis patients who are not surgical candidates.