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Endoscopy is a technique for looking inside the body using an endoscope — a long, thin flexible tube with a tiny video camera and light on the end. It allows UT Southwestern Medical Center physicians to evaluate the lining of the upper digestive system. High-quality pictures from the endoscope are shown on a television monitor, providing a clear and detailed view of the organs.
Endoscopy is often preferable to other procedures because it enables physicians to see abnormalities, like bleeding and inflammation, that don’t show up well on X-ray studies. The scope also blows air into the stomach, expanding the folds of tissue, making problem areas more evident. If anything suspicious is found during the examination, a tissue sample can be removed for biopsy and the physician also can insert instruments into the scope to treat certain conditions, like bleeding from an ulcer.
UT Southwestern‘s physicians use advanced endoscopy to diagnose and treat conditions such as:
Advanced endoscopy is carried out using the most advanced techniques — with the most advanced equipment — some of which are developed or improved on at our medical center. Expert, cutting-edge but compassionate care is an important characteristic of the advanced endoscopy services that are available at UT Southwestern. Advanced techniques include:
- Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)
- Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
- Advanced imaging techniques with chromoendoscopy and narrow band imaging
- Single balloon enterosocpy for evaluation of conditions of the small bowel
- Capsule endoscopy
- Endoscopic resection of large segment Barrett esophagus
- Endoscopic pancreas pseudocyst drainage
- Endoscopic ultrasound guided tissue sampling
- Endoscopic suturing using hemoclips and tissue glue
Research is ongoing to develop a practical endoscopic pancreas function test and to improve diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopic capabilities. UT Southwestern also develops surgical approaches through the bowel rather than through the skin, a procedure called NOTES (natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery).
Of these procedures, ERCP and EUS are performed on a daily basis. ERCP combines X-rays and endoscopy. After the endoscope is lowered through the stomach into the duodenum, catheters are introduced in the bile ducts, where dye is injected, enabling X-rays to be taken to evaluate the bile ducts. ERCP is used primarily to evaluate and treat a number of different problems of the bile ducts including gallstones, cancer and scarring. EUS is used to diagnose tumors in the bile ducts, esophagus, liver, pancreas and rectum. It is also being used to aid in the diagnosis of disease outside of the gut, such as lungs, mediastinum, traches and others. Therapeutic EUS is also evolving and will find applications in the very near future, complementing ERCP.
The ability to prevent disease, diagnose it early and help patients through therapeutic endoscopy is a major goal of the Advanced Endoscopy Program. At UT Southwestern, our specialists are dedicated to providing patients with attentive, cutting-edge, and personalized care in an environment that is home to one of the nation’s preeminent health-care facilities.
UT Southwestern’s comprehensive medical resources enable patients to have an initial consultation, testing, follow-up visits and any needed medical procedures in one location.
