It is my great honor to contribute to this special edition entitled “Interventional Endoscopic Ultrasound” as the guest editor.

Recently, interventional endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) has rapidly evolved and become increasingly employed in the treatment of pancreatobiliary diseases. Interventional EUS serves two major purposes; EUS-guided drainage and ablation. The targets of EUS-guided drainage include peri-pancreatic fluid collection, bile duct, gallbladder and pancreatic duct. The indications for these techniques have expanded significantly, such as preoperative biliary drainage, treatment of post-operative pancreatic fistula, treatment of acute cholecystitis in patients at high risk of surgery and biliary drainage in patients with surgically altered anatomy. On the other hand, the potential adverse events associated with these procedures should be carefully considered and prevented. To ensure more effective and safter treatments, it is essential to develop new methods, devices and techniques in the field of interventional EUS.

This special edition compiles case reports and original articles on new indications, techniques, and methods for prevention of adverse events in interventional EUS.

Sincerely,

Masayuki Kitano, MD, PhD

Professor and Chairman

Second Department of Internal Medicine,

Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama, Japan