Cholangioscopy

Cholangioscopy is a procedure where your gastroenterologist or physician wants to inspect your bile ducts more closely and see hard-to-reach areas that can’t be visualized using other diagnostics. Cholangioscopy can be both diagnostic and therapeutic, meaning that it can diagnose and treat diseases of the bile duct.

The same instrument that is use to visualize the bile ducts can also be used to inspect the pancreas during the endoscopy, however, this procedure is called pancreatoscopy. The procedure is used in conjunction with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), which uses endoscopy and X-ray technology to examine the bile ducts, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder. ERCP has its limitations, and your physician may not be able to clearly visualize parts of the bile ducts. If your physician feels the need to get a more clearer look in or obtain biopsy samples from the bile ducts, they may use ERCP and cholangioscopy combined or cholangioscopy as a standalone diagnostic.