Xuefeng Lu, MD, from Qilu Hospital, Shandong University School of Medicine, in Jinan, China discusses this New Methods article “Facilitating retroflexed endoscopic full-thickness resection through loop-mediated or rope-mediated countertraction (with videos).”
Our study focused on providing simple and effective methods to provide counter-traction during endoscopic resection of gastric submucosal tumors.
Compared to laparoscopic surgery, endoscopic resection is a less invasive approach to manage small (<3cm) gastric submucosal tumors. A common technical hurdle during endoscopic resection, however, is poor visualization and maneuverability. We demonstrated here that by utilizing surgical suture or a snare, effective counter-traction can be achieved and the procedure could be much simplified.
We found the mean operative time was significantly reduced by both methods from around one and a half hours to 40 minutes; the method using the snare was more maneuverable in terms of providing retraction, but takes more time to master. Outcomes of surgery were not jeopardized by these methods, as expected. Future studies may focus on modifications on the current methods and training of endoscopic resection techniques.
Endoscopic resection can be sophisticated, with an awesome array of instrumentation; it can also be simple, with a combination of what we have got. When we face a huge gap, we build a bridge; we it is a small one, we jump further; it is all about cost-effectiveness.
Read the abstract for this article online.
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