Interventional EUS: Future Perspectives

Technical advances in linear echoendoscopes with larger accessory channels opened up the possibility for development of new devices and procedures. If looking further into the future, one could envisage an evolution of these technologies to exciting newer dimensions in the form of EUS-guided minimally invasive surgery. EUS-guidance may also play a role in the new field of natural orifice transgastric endoscopic surgery serving as a guide for the transgastric assessment of organs within the peritoneal cavity without the need for direct access. This article provides an overview on some of the possible near and far future EUS-guided interventions that have the potential to evolve into routine procedures.