ERCP full form in medicine is Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. It’s this cool medical procedure that’s like a mashup of endoscopy and X-ray imaging. Doctors use it to take a good look at your bile ducts, pancreas, and gallbladder. When you’re getting an ERCP, a gastroenterologist (fancy word for a stomach doctor) slides an endoscope through your mouth, down your throat, and into your stomach and duodenum, that’s the first part of your small intestine, by the way. The bile and pancreatic ducts connect there, and that’s where the doctor gets a peek. You might be thinking, “Why would anyone need an ERCP?” Great question! This procedure helps diagnose and treat all sorts of issues related to your liver, gallbladder, bile ducts, and pancreas. Like, if you’ve got unexplained tummy pain or your skin and eyes are turning yellow (that’s called jaundice), your doctor might suggest an ERCP in order to check for blockages, stones, or inflammation in those ducts.
During an ERCP, the doctor can also fix stuff if they need to. They might remove gallstones, put in a stent (a tiny tube) to keep a duct open, or even grab a tissue sample to check out later. The best part? They can do all of this without any open surgery, which is a major plus for the ERCP procedure.