A Newly Developed SMA (Shaped Memorizing Alloy) Catheter for Ultrathin Peroral Cholangio-Pancreaticoscopy

We previously described an SMA (shaped memorizing alloy) catheter for peroral cholangio-pancreaticoscopy using an ultrathin fiberscope in 1992. However, this catheter had poor manipulation characteristics for inserting into the major papilla, because of its insufficiently thin diameter. A Newly developed thinner SMA catheter was found to have improved manipulation despite only unidirectional bending. Ten cases of pancreatico-biliary disease, including seven normal major papilla, were examined using this catheter. In two biliary and nine pancreatic cases we tried for insertion into the common bile duct or main pancreatic duct, and succeeded in insertion for all cases. Cholangio-pancreatoscopy using an ultrathin scope was performed for one biliary case and nine pancreatic cases and eight cases could be observed clearly through this catheter. We conclude that the new SMA catheter is an useful instrument for peroral cholangio-pancreatoscopy in combination with ultrathin scopes.