Endoscopic tattooing of gastrointestinal and pancreatic lesions

The intraoperative identification of the lesions found at endoscopic examination is often difficult, especially during laparoscopic surgery. At present, the most used technique for the intraoperative detection of pathological lesions is endoscopic tattooing. The large majority of studies carried out concern colorectal lesions; however, endoscopic tattooing has also been described for esophageal, gastric, small bowel and, more recently, pancreatic lesions. In this review, the authors evaluated indications, substances used, injection techniques, accuracy, safety and, finally, the risk of complications related to this procedure.