A Taiwan study found that large balloon dilation alone without the use of sphincterotomy to treat large common bile duct stones met safety and efficacy requirements, according to a report in BMC Gastroenterology.
Patients at Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital recovered completely after conservative and endoscopic treatment, and no procedure-related mortality was shown.
In the study, 172 patients had a follow-up duration of more than six months and 25 of these patients had recurrent common bile duct stones.
Read the BMC Gastroenterology study of large balloon dilation.
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