Push Endoscopy
(Push Enteroscopy)
Medical Author: Jay W. Marks, MD
Medical Editor: Dennis Lee, MD
What is endoscopy?
Standard upper gastrointestinal endoscopes (120 cm flexible tubes with a
light and camera on their tips) are capable of reaching only a foot or so past
the stomach into the small intestine. If abnormalities are located within this
area, these endoscopes have working channels through which surgical instruments
can be passed so that diagnostic and therapeutic procedures such as biopsy and
electrocautery can be done.
Many abnormalities of the small bowel, however, lie
further along the small intestine beyond the reach of the standard upper
gastrointestinal endoscopes. Sometimes a
colonoscope, similar to the upper
gastrointestinal endoscope but 180 cm in length, can be used to reach a little
further into the small intestine, but the additional reach of colonoscopes is
limited.
It is not the length of the endoscope that is the most important
problem in reaching further into the small intestine. The problem is that the
path of the endoscope through the stomach and duodenum is twisty and the
endoscopes curl in the stomach. In addition, the small intestine is not fixed in
place, and this makes advancement of the endoscopes even more difficult.
Next: What is push endoscopy? »
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