Endoscopic closure of acute iatrogenic perforations during diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy in the gastrointestinal tract using metallic clips: a literature review.

Iatrogenic perforations that occur during the endoscopic procedures are generally surgically managed, even if some authors prefer a non-surgical approach in selected cases. The endoscopic application of metallic clips has been widely used in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract for hemostasis and also for marking lesions. Since 1993 several series of endoscopic perforations treated with endoclips have been described in the literature. In this review we offer a descriptive analysis of the reported cases of the acute iatrogenic perforation, describing the closure of different perforations occurring in the GI tract, treated with metallic clips.