ESWL vs. Pancreatoscopy-guided Lithotripsy for Painful Chronic Calcific Pancreatitis

Description

Patients with chronic pancreatitis frequently develop obstructing pancreatic duct stones which can lead to severe pain. Current standard methods to remove these stones include ERCP and extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy (ESWL) which are limited in removing larger and multiple impacted stones. Availability in the USA of ESWL for this indication also may be limited even at major referral centers. The introduction of single-operator per-oral pancreatoscopy (SpyGlassTM) has enabled direct intraductal visualization to target stones. Retrospective studies demonstrate a high success rate but literature is quite limited, uncontrolled, and highly selective. Further, many experts and recent European Society Guidelines suggest that ESWL is the only primary therapy for larger stones (5mm or larger) and that intraductal endoscopy and lithotripsy should only be used for ‘salvage’ therapy in select patients.

A critical need exists to compare the efficacy of per oral pancreatoscopy-guided lithotripsy (PPL) with ESWL to determine which therapy is most efficacious in removing refractory PD stones. The investigators believe ERCP with POP has distinct advantages of localizing ‘shocks’ to the stones, helping to identify and treat underlying strictures in the duct, and lithotripsy of multiple stones can be performed at a single session with a recent multi-center international retrospective study showing all stones removed in a single session in over 70% of cases. Therefore, this project seeks to change the perceived standard of care as it relates to symptomatic pancreatic duct stones in this population, shifting the pendulum towards endoscopic and specifically pancreatoscopy-guided therapy.