Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Therapy, July 30, 1998

Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Therapy, July 30, 1998

Gastrointestinal endoscopy has traditionally been used for diagnosis; in recent years, its therapeutic applications have increased. The most commonly used and effective procedures include endoscopic removal of foreign bodies, polypectomy, endoscopic hemostasis of upper gastrointestinal bleeding, and ligation combined with sclerotherapy for esophageal varices, which provides significant hemostatic effects and has completely replaced the traditional three-lumen double-balloon method. Endoscopic dilation of strictures is effective in the short term for advanced esophageal or cardia cancer, and placement of an internal stent after surgery can keep the esophagus patent, thereby prolonging life. Endoscopic cholecystectomy is now widely performed domestically, and besides the gallbladder, appendices, kidneys, and uteri can also be removed via endoscopy. Endoscopic lithotripsy can extend to intrahepatic bile ducts, and it can also dilate narrowed bile ducts, making it a good method for solving difficult biliary problems today. However, surgical complications are still hard to avoid: the mortality rate for cholecystectomy is 1%, and the incidence of bile duct injury is 2%–6%, often resulting in bile duct bleeding, acute inflammation, and necrotizing pancreatitis.