Endoscopic sphincterotomy in clinical practice.

Endoscopic sphincterotomy was performed in 22 patients with biliary obstruction. Nineteen patients had obstructing choledocholithiasis and three patients had distal common-bileduct obstruction due to malignant disease. All patients had excellent biliary decompression. Three patients had complications that responded to medical management. Endoscopic sphincterotomy is a safe and effective procedure for the nonsurgical management of obstructive-biliary-tract disease.