Center for General, Vascular, Endoscopic Surgery, and Medical Aesthetics

Endoscopic

surgery

What Is Endoscopic Surgery?

Endoscopic surgery uses scopes going through small incisions or natural body openings in order to diagnose and treat disease. Another popular term is minimally invasive surgery (MIS), which emphasizes that diagnosis and treatments can be done with reduced body cavity invasion.


Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery (VATS)

This endoscopic approach is used to treat conditions such as malignancy, recurring pneumothorax, infection and other thoracic disorders. VATS minimizes surgical and health risks and allows for one- to two-day hospital stay, reduced recovery time and complications. Less than 5% of VATS patients experience postoperative complications compared to 30% of thoracotomy patients. VATS lobectomy is currently being used for major lung cancer surgery.

  • VATS is used for many different procedures including:

    • Taking biopsies from the lung or the lining of the chest.
    • Removing lymph nodes.
    • Removing lumps or growths    from the lung.
    • To treat various lung conditions such as fluid accumulating in the lining of the lung (pleural effusion).
  • VATS is used for many different procedures including:

    • Taking biopsies from the lung or the lining of the chest.
    • Removing lymph nodes.
    • Removing lumps or growths    from the lung.
    • To treat various lung conditions such as fluid accumulating in the lining of the lung (pleural effusion).
  • VATS is used for many different procedures including:

    • Taking biopsies from the lung or the lining of the chest.
    • Removing lymph nodes.
    • Removing lumps or growths    from the lung.
    • To treat various lung conditions such as fluid accumulating in the lining of the lung (pleural effusion).

Colonoscopy and Colorectal Cancer Screening

Colonoscopies are performed for cancer screening, to obtain biopsy and removal of lesions, and to evaluate and treat bleeding. Colorectal cancer screening is important because it can prevent cancer or find it early when it may be easier to treat. The American Cancer Society recommends colorectal cancer testing for everyone starting at age 45, though some people with certain risk factors may need to start at a younger age. Colonoscopy is one of the most widely used tests because not only can it find colon and rectal cancers, it can also find polyps that can be removed before they turn into cancer.

Bronchoscopy

Bronchoscopy is both diagnostic and interventional. It is a technique used to look at your air passages with a small camera that is located at the end of a flexible tube. This connects to a video screen for the doctors to view and take photos of your air passages. The tube also has a small channel to collect tissue samples from your lung that can be used in disease diagnosis. It is typically done on an outpatient basis, meaning that you can go home the same day of the procedure. Bronchoscopy is done under “conscious” sedation. You continue to breathe on your own but do not feel the discomfort of having the tube in your mouth or nose.

Endoscopic Stenting

Many diseases or disease complications can narrow or block your airway, causing you to feel short of breath. A stent is a hollow tube that may be placed in your airway to open the narrowed area and help you breathe. Endoscopy stenting of the trachea is used to manage stenosis, laryngeal and tracheal injury after trauma, atresia and tracheal lesions or following surgical resection or reconstruction.

The stent can be placed in either your trachea or your bronchi, depending where the narrow area is. The trachea is the tube that carries air from your nose and mouth into your lungs. The bronchi are tubes that branch off the trachea and lead to different areas of your lungs. Endoscopy stenting can also be placed in the Esophagus, Duodenum and Colon.

Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) // Upper GI Endoscopy

An interventional endoscopic procedure, EGD, can be used to diagnose diseases such as GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), larger than normal veins in your esophagus (esophageal varices), sores/ulcers, hiatal hernia, Celiac disease, Crohn’s disease and infections of the upper GI tract. This procedure can also treat problems such as bleeding, tumors or growths (polyps), narrowed areas, and obstructing foreign bodies in your upper GI tract. It is often used to find the cause of unexplained symptoms such as trouble swallowing (dysphagia), unexplained weight loss, upper belly pain or chest pain that is not heart-related, continuous vomiting for an unknown reason (intractable vomiting), or bleeding in the upper GI tract. 

Injection Therapy for Managing GI Bleeds

Injection therapy is provided to achieve haemostatsis, a process which causes active bleeding to stop in the GI tract. 

Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG)

PEG is an interventional endoscopic procedure that places standard and low-profile percutaneous gastrostomy tubes through the abdominal wall and into the stomach. PEG allows nutrition, fluids and/or medications to be put directly into the stomach, bypassing the mouth and esophagus. Gastrostomy Tubes also know as G-Tubes can be a life-saving piece of equipment for patients who have trouble getting enough nutrition, or a difficult time swallowing. They are required after a gastrointestinal surgery, as eating normally afterward is not possible. 

Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatogrophy (ERCP) 

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, or ERCP, is a specialized technique used to study and manage the common bile duct, pancreatic ducts, and gallbladder. Ducts are drainage routes; the drainage channels from the liver are called bile or biliary ducts. The pancreatic duct is the drainage channel from the pancreas.  Common problems include choledocholithiasis, pancreatic pseudo-cysts, tumors or masses of the bile ducts and pancreas. 

Endoscopic Retrograde
Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)

Anatomic Diagram including:
Common Bile Duct, Pancreas Ducts, and Gallbladder

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South Carolina Surgical
& Medical Aesthetics
3045 St Matthews Rd
Orangeburg, SC 29118

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Phone: 803-747-7242
Billing: 877-710-0527 or 614-965-6733
Fax: 803-747-7243
Email: contact@southcarolinasurgical.com

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