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World J Gastrointest Surg. Jul 27, 2025; 17(7): 107385
Published online Jul 27, 2025. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v17.i7.107385
Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography-related adverse events: What is the role of surgery today?
Mariarita Tarallo, Daniele Crocetti, Alessandro Coppola, Immacolata Iannone, Antonietta Lamazza, Paolo Sapienza, Enrico Fiori
Mariarita Tarallo, Daniele Crocetti, Alessandro Coppola, Immacolata Iannone, Antonietta Lamazza, Paolo Sapienza, Enrico Fiori, Department of Surgery, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00161, Italy
Author contributions: Tarallo M contributed to the writing - original draft; Coppola A participated in the formal analysis; Tarallo M and Fiori E contributed to the conceptualization of this study; Tarallo M, Lamazza A, and Sapienza P participated in the methodology of this manuscript; Tarallo M, Crocetti D, Coppola A, Sapienza P, and Fiori E contributed to the writing - review & editing of this manuscript; Crocetti D and Iannone I curated data and contributed to the research; Lamazza A, Sapienza P, and Fiori E contributed to the supervision of this manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Mariarita Tarallo, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Giovanni Maria Lancisi, 2, Rome 00161, Italy. mariarita.tarallo@uniroma1.it
Received: March 24, 2025
Revised: April 7, 2025
Accepted: May 20, 2025
Published online: July 27, 2025
Processing time: 123 Days and 12.5 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Surgical management of post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography complications remains crucial despite advancements in endoscopic techniques. This review highlights rare but serious adverse events - post-sphincterotomy bleeding, perforation, stent migration, and Dormia basket impaction - emphasizing diagnostic strategies, therapeutic approaches, and surgical interventions when non-operative methods fail. Early recognition and tailored management, guided by the type of complication and the patient’s condition, are essential for improving outcomes. The review offers an updated, practical overview to assist clinicians in managing these challenging scenarios, particularly when surgery becomes the final - but life-saving - resort.