By
Andres Cardenas, MD, MMSc
Paul Thuluvath, MD, MRCP, FRCP, Associate Professor of Medicine, Director of Liver Transplantation, Johns Hopkins University, Balitmore, MD
Description
Gastrointestinal endoscopy plays an essential role in the management of patients with liver disease. This issue reviews the standard of
care in the endoscopic management of portal hypertension and biliary disease before and after liver transplantation. A thorough knowledge
of the available endoscopic diagnostic and therapeutic methods is essential for the practicing hepatologist. Emphasis is placed on recent
advances in imaging techniques such as the application of capsule endoscopy and endoscopic ultrasound in the evaluation of portal hypertension
and recent advances in cholangioscopy and biliary tissue sampling. Additionally new information regarding the endoscopic management of
esophageal and gastric varices is reviewed. Finally, the current role of ERCP in the diagnosis and staging of cholangiocarcinoma before
liver transplantation and the endoscopic management of biliary complications after liver transplantation is discussed.
Included in series
The Clinics: Internal Medicine
