Impact of biliary tract endoscopy on benign and malignant diseases.

In the last 15 years, the management of patients affected with obstructive jaundice has been greatly improved by the introduction into clinical practice of diagnostic and therapeutic biliary tract endoscopy. This method has provided better knowledge of the pathophysiology of diseases of the common bile duct (CBD), with enormous benefit for surgical decision making. Moreover, it has reduced morbidity and mortality in emergency patients as well as in high-risk patients with CBD stones. Even the incidence of retained stones has been reduced to almost 1%-2%. The impact of endoscopy on diseases of the biliary tract has been tremendous.