A woman in her 80s was previously diagnosed with a ring ulcer in the descending part of the duodenum. She experienced recurrent ulcerations in the same part of the duodenum. The resulting scars caused progressive narrowing of the duodenum, thereby preventing oral intake. As the quality of health and daily life of the patient were considerably affected over the next 6 months, she visited our hospital for a second opinion. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy and catheter duodenography revealed a pinhole stenosis (approximately 3 mm in length) in the descending part of the duodenum. Therefore, endoscopic dilatation was performed in stages over a period of 4 days. Moreover, special attention was paid to complications that might arise with the dilatation process. On the first day, dilation was started with a 6 mm balloon, and finally an 18 mm balloon was used on the fourth day. Thereafter, the patient was able to eat again. We conclude that our technique may be useful for patients with benign duodenal stenosis.
