in iden 2012 , many diverse experiences associated with basic procedures to advanced techniques of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography ( ercp ) were highlighted in great enthusiastic lectures by world renowned experts . interesting cases entitled " interesting cases in pancreatobiliary endoscopy " were introduced in video forum . in this highlight summary of interesting presentations , i will present a summarized review about basic procedures of ercp like balloon dilation for common bile duct ( cbd ) stones , advanced techniques like endoscopic necrosectomy for necrotizing pancreatitis , recently proposed management for the prevention of post - ercp pancreatitis , and spyglass direct visualization system through which we can directly observe the cbd and pancreatic duct . eplbd is easy to use and effective for the removal of common bile duct ( cbd ) stones , but still debates exist on safety issue . since eplbd requires only a small endoscopic sphincterotomy ( est ) or none at other occasions , eplbd is generally believed to avoid the complications of a full est . lee and han1 conducted a large retrospective multicenter study , in which a total of 946 consecutive patients with large cbd stones were enrolled in this study . serious adverse events occurred in 95 patients ( 10% ) , after which the following guidelines of eplbd in order to pursuit zero mortality were suggested ; 1 ) eplbd should be avoided in patients with distal cbd strictures ; 2 ) full est should be avoided immediately before eplbd ; 3 ) the balloon should be inflated gradually ; 4 ) inflation should be discontinued in cases of persistent balloon waist ( 75% rule ) ; 5 ) not to be inflated beyond the maximum diameter of the dilated cbd ; and 6 ) convert to an alternative stone removal or drainage method any time there is difficulty in removing the stone . because it was multicenter study analyzing the safety of eplbd based on large numbers of cases , experienced experts will agree with the above referred recommendations , though it was studied retrospectively . kahaleh and freeman2 recently made recommendations to minimize risks of ercp in international digestive endoscopy network ( iden ) 2012 as follows ; adequate selection of patients undergoing ercp , skilled operators using novel techniques for prompt identification , which is key to successful prevention and management . pancreatitis is the most common complication associated with ercp procedure with average rate of about 5% . risk factors for the occurrence of post - ercp pancreatitis include younger age , indication of suspected sphincter of oddi dysfunction , history of previous post - ercp pancreatitis , absence of elevated serum bilirubin levels , and female sex are usually at increased risk . techniquerelated issues have long been recognized to be important in causing post - ercp pancreatitis . he also mentioned about specific techniques to reduce risk of post - ercp pancreatitis , such as pancreatic stents , more promising pharmacological agents including non - steroidal anti - inflammatory drug , and enema for prevention of post - ercp pancreatitis . new possibility that eus - guided endoscopic pancreaticobiliary drainage can replace the percutaneous techniques and obviate surgery was shown in iden 2012 . kahaleh3 referred that endoscopic debridement and stent insertion can reduce high morbidity and mortality of surgery in severe necrotizing pancreatitis . endoscopic necrosectomy using repeats session of debridement and plastic stents insertion has been more frequently used within the last decade and half . fully covered self - expandable metal stents might provide a safer and more efficient drainage through a larger diameter stent . additionally he described techniques of transmural drainage and endoscopic debridement , how to make the transenteric access into the pancreatic necrosis , how to make active endoscopic irrigation with a gastroscope and debridement of cystic contents using biopsy forceps , and roth nets and polypectomy snares in detail . this technique is evolving continuously as we attempt to optimize the post - procedural outcomes . there were attractive video lectures during iden 2012 dealing with advanced techniques for pancreaticobiliary visualization including direct peroral cholangioscopy , spyglass direct visualization system , forward - viewing echoendoscopy , and contrast - enhanced eus and elastography accompanied with actual interesting cases for each . kahaleh4 mentioned that the single operator cholangioscopy ( soc ) system ( spyglass ; direct visualization system , natick , ma , usa ) may offer an interesting compromise in terms of size ( 10 fr diameter ) and complexity of use . soc is challenged by the size of the biopsy obtained and the stiffness of the forceps ( spybite ; boston scientific , natick , ma , usa ) fitting within the working channel of the system . sensitivity of forceps biopsy through the cholangioscope was far higher for intrinsic ( 66% ) than extrinsic ( 8% ) malignant lesions . conclusively , spyglass ( direct visualization system ) has not only been used as a platform for advanced intraductal imaging with probe based endomicroscopy and spyglass - guided stone fragmentation ; but also for photodynamic therapy to treat bile duct cancer . soc can be a great step to realize intraductal visualization as well as therapy , but the best is yet to come . pancreatobiliary endoscopy is continuously evolving area with new techniques and we attempt to optimize the postprocedural outcomes .
the pancreatobiliary organ is composed of one of the most complicated structures and complex physiological functions among other digestive organs in our body . 
 this is why endoscopic procedure in pancreaticobiliary system requires rather complicated techniques . in international digestive endoscopy network ( iden ) 2012 , many interesting pancreatobiliay endoscopy related topics were presented . 
 basic procedures like endoscopic papillary balloon dilation ( epbd ) , advanced techniques like endoscopic necrosectomy , prevention and management of post - ercp pancreatitis , and spyglass system are reviewed in this highlight summary .