Transesophageal needle aspiration using a third-generation Olympus ultrasound bronchoscope for subaortic lesions: a report of two cases

Transesophageal endoscopic ultrasound with bronchoscope-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-B-FNA) using an endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) bronchoscope has been reported to be useful for diagnosing mediastinal lesions (1) and for mediastinal staging of lung cancer in combination with endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) (2,3). In 2018, a third-generation Olympus EBUS bronchoscope (BF-UC290F; Olympus, Tokyo, Japan, Figure 1A) was launched. It has a 40° wider up-angulation range of the bending section and a 5° steeper needle angle compared to a conventional second-generation EBUS bronchoscope (BF-UC260FW; Olympus; Figure 1B). The new EBUS bronchoscope is preferable for evaluating previously difficult-to-reach lesions by EUS-B-FNA, including subaortic lesions. Here, we present two cases in accordance with the CARE-Guidelines (4)