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A U G U S T 2 0 1 4 | O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
This innovative device lets physicians advance standard endoscopes
into the small bowel to perform deep balloon-assisted enteroscopy.
Physicians work the device's soft-tipped catheter containing a latex-
free balloon through the scope's instrument channel and position it in
the pylorus or terminal ileum. With the balloon advanced ahead of the
scope, the physician taps on a foot pedal to inflate the balloon. A nurse
or technician holds the catheter in place while the physician pushes
the scope forward, deflates the balloon by the tapping the foot pedal
again and repeats the process for continued propagation. When the
physician reaches the intended destination to look for bleeds or
pathology, the balloon can be removed back through the instrument
channel while the scope remains in position. Physicians can also with-
draw the scope in a controlled manner by using the balloon as an
anchor along the way.
F R O M T H E S H O W F L O O R
because the technique shaves beneath lesions, but does not cut all the
way through the lumen structure."
During conventional esophagectomy, surgeons remove diseased
sections of the esophagus. "There are immediate complications, which
are vast, but also delayed complications," said Dr. Thompson. "Patients
don't have a high quality of life after esophageal resection."
Submucosal dissection turns a complex inpatient surgery into a rela-
tively painless outpatient procedure. Olympus Medical makes specially
designed electrosurgical knives — which recently gained FDA approval
— that work with any electrosurgery generator. Experts from Asia and
the U.S. gathered in Chicago in May at Digestive Disease Week to dis-
cuss their experiences with ESD with the hopes of bringing the proce-
dure to more American facilities.
— Daniel Cook
