What is it?
Spiral enteroscopy is a minimally invasive technique to perform therapeutic procedures in the small bowel without invasive surgery.
The small bowel has been difficult to access until recently, and treatments to the area have traditionally been surgical.
Why should I get a Spiral Enteroscopy?
- To evaluate your medical condition by getting a look at your gastrointestinal tract
- To examine the small intestine.
Enteroscopy is a form of endoscopy that uses a thin, flexible scope to capture video images of your small intestine and sometimes to treat conditions on the spot.
What are the benefits of the procedure?
- To quickly reach far into the intestine to examine, and where possible, treat your condition with precise control.
- Your doctor can perform a biopsy, remove small tumors and polyps, treat bleeding and dilate (open) intestinal narrowing.
- Spiral enteroscopies can be performed in as little as twenty minutes but may require more time depending on your condition.
What is involved in the procedure?
- The procedure will be performed with you lying on your left side.
- The physician will usually administer something to help you relax and remain comfortable throughout the procedure and medications will be administered through an intravenous line.
- The endoscopist advances the scope to the small intestine to inspect the area.
- The enteroscope has a lens and a light source that allows the endoscopist to get video images of the intestinal lining. The image on the monitor is highly magnified so the endoscopist can see minuscule changes in the tissue.
- The enteroscope contains channels that allow the endoscopist to obtain biopsies (small pieces of tissue), remove polyps and treat any bleeding.
None of these activities are painful, since the lining of the intestine does not experience pain.
There is little discomfort after the procedure and most people just experience fatigue. Please arrange for a drive home as you have received sedatives and/or anesthetics and it is dangerous to drive a motor vehicle.