Faculty Bibliography

AIMS: Colorectal cancer (CRC) prevention by colonoscopy is often attributed to the early detection of adenomas, but lesions that go undetected can result in interval cancers. This is largely due to lesions that are hidden behind colonic folds that obscure endoscopic optics. The G-EYETM endoscope (Smart Medical Systems Ltd., Ra'anana, Israel) combines a forward-viewing endoscope with a permanently integrated balloon at the distal end, that when inflated flattens haustral folds, centralizes endoscope optics, and reduces bowel slippage. This provides improved visualization and increased detection of adenomas. Our study compares the adenoma detection rate of G-EYETM colonoscopy with that of Standard Colonoscopy.
METHOD(S): Patients (age >50) referred to colonoscopy for screening, surveillance, following positive FOBT, or due to change in bowel habits were randomized to G-EYETM colonoscopy or SC. Detected lesions were removed and sent for pathology. Adenoma detection rates were calculated.
RESULT(S): Nine hundred patients were enrolled in the study, of which 445 subjects were randomized to SC and 455 subjects were randomized to G-EYETM colonoscopy. Baseline parameters were similar in both groups. Results are presented in Table 1.
CONCLUSION(S): Our study shows that the G-EYETM endoscope has the potential to enhance the quality of CRC screening through increased adenoma detection. The G-EYETM detected not only small and diminutive adenomas, but a substantially higher number of advanced and large adenomas as well. Furthermore, increased detection by G-EYETM colonoscopy of sessile serrated adenomas, lesions strongly associated with CRC, can further reduce the incidents of interval cancers. (Table Presented)

Diospyrobezoars are a subtype of phytobezoars caused by excessive consumption of persimmons, which contain large amounts of tannins. In contrast to phytobezoars, diospyrobezoars have a harder consistency than other bezoars, making them more difficult to break up both chemically and endoscopically. We have previously reported successful dissolution of phytobezoars with diet soda and cellulase. A review of the literature found low efficacy of soda in dissolving diospyrobezoars compared to other phytobezoars. We report a case of successful dissolution of a diospyrobezoar after a failed attempt with diet soda alone.

Introduction: Colorectal cancer (CRC) detection is attributed to the early detection and removal of polyps and adenomas during colonoscopy procedures. Although colonoscopy is considered to be the "gold standard" for CRC prevention, a significant number of polyps and adenomas go undetected during standard procedures. This is largely due to polyps that are hidden behind colonic folds that obscure endoscopic optics and result in interval cancers. The G-EYE endoscope (Smart Medical Systems Ltd., Ra'anana, Israel) comprises a standard forward-viewing endoscope with a permanently integrated balloon at the distal end. Upon withdrawal of the endoscope, the G-EYE balloon is inflated to a partial pressure allowing for the flattening of haustral folds, centralization of the endoscope optics, and reduction in bowel slippage, thus providing improved visualization of the colon anatomy and increased detection of polyps and adenomas. Aims & Methods: This prospective, randomized, multicentre study compares the adenoma detection rate (ADR) of the G-EYE HD colonoscopy with that of standard HD colonoscopy (SC). Patients (age450) referred to colonoscopy for screening, surveillance, following positive FOBT, or due to change in bowel habits were randomized to either G-EYE colonoscopy or SC. Detected polyps were removed and sent for pathology. Polyp and adenoma detection rates were calculated. Result: 480 patients were enrolled in the study, of which 238 subjects were randomized to SC and 242 subjects were randomized to G-EYETM colonoscopy. Baseline parameters and indication for colonoscopy were similar in both groups. The ADR, adenoma per patient, number of adenomas by size and advanced adenomas for each group are presented in Table 1. G-EYE colonoscopy improved ADR by 45.6% when compared to SC. More specifically, the GEYE endoscope increased the number of advanced adenomas and large-size adenomas by 96.9% and 96.2%, respectively. Procedural times were similar in both groups. Conclusion: Our study shows that the G-EYE endoscope can substantially improve ADR when compared to SC. In addition to diminutive and small adenomas, the G-EYE endoscope detects a larger number of advanced and large-size adenomas. Consequently, we conclude that the G-EYE endoscope can significantly enhance the quality of CRC screening and thus reduce colonoscopic miss rates and interval cancer incidents. (Table Presented)

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The advent of capsule endoscopy has revolutionized evaluation of the small bowel. Capsule endoscopy has become the criterion standard as the initial examination to diagnose small-bowel abnormalities, but does not allow for tissue sampling or therapeutic intervention. Deep enteroscopy can be performed by using a balloon-assisted device or a spiral overtube for both diagnostic and therapeutic interventions of the small bowel. Deep enteroscopy is time-consuming and requires special endoscopes and accessories to perform the examination. We studied a novel through-the-scope balloon catheter system used for deep enteroscopy that uses a conventional colonoscope and standard accessories. METHODS: We performed a 9-center, retrospective study using a novel TTS balloon system for small-bowel evaluation. The new through-the-scope device is an on-demand balloon catheter that is inserted through the instrument channel of a standard colonoscope and enables deep advancement into the small bowel in either the anterograde or retrograde approach. It consists of a balloon inflation/deflation system and a single-use balloon catheter designed for anchoring in the small bowel. The balloon is inflated to an anchoring pressure in the small intestine, and a repetitive push-pull technique is performed, with the endoscope sliding over the guiding catheter to the inflated balloon. The catheter may be removed and reinserted to allow for therapeutic intervention while maintaining the endoscope position. RESULTS: A total of 98 patients were included; 52% were male, and the mean age was 55 years old (range 15-94 years). Indications included abdominal pain, iron-deficiency anemia, occult GI bleeding, diarrhea, abnormal capsule endoscopy, weight loss, protein losing enteropathy, retained foreign body, altered anatomy ERCP, and small-bowel strictures. Anterograde enteroscopy was performed in 65 patients. The average depth of insertion was 158 cm (range 50-350 cm) from the pylorus. Retrograde enteroscopy was performed in 33 cases. The average depth of insertion was 89 cm (range 20-150 cm) beyond the ileocecal valve. Overall, diagnostic yield was 44%. The average advancement time for the anterograde and retrograde enteroscopy cases was 15.5 minutes. There were no procedural adverse outcomes reported in the 98 cases. CONCLUSIONS: The TTS advancing balloon is a safe and effective way to perform deep enteroscopy by using a conventional colonoscope without the need for an overtube. Procedure time is shorter than that of other forms of deep enteroscopy. Diagnostic yield and depth of insertion are on par with other forms of deep enteroscopy. This is the largest reported study using this novel technology to diagnose and treat small-bowel disease.