20ft small intestine examined in 18 mins

Nagpur: The small intestine has always been difficult to access by the endoscopic method because of its length and tortuosity. But, with a promising new technology called Motorized Spiral Enteroscopy, doctors from the city examined the entire 20 feet of the small bowel in 18 minutes.
Recently at Midas Hospital, four patients underwent spiral enteroscopy procedures for various conditions of the small intestine such as bleeding, inflammation with narrowing, and cancer.

“In one of the patients, the entire 20 feet of small bowel was examined in 18 minutes, which was not possible with earlier endoscopes,” said gastroenterologist Dr Shrikant Mukewar.
“We are the first to launch this latest technology in Central India. This allows us to diagnose and treat gastrointestinal conditions with greater accuracy and efficiency,” Dr Mukewar said.
Dr Sridhar Sundaram from Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, and Dr Saurabh Mukewar from Midas performed these procedures.
“Finding out what is inside a patient’s small intestine, which could be up to 22 ft in length, has always been a challenge. This area is difficult to access. So, we had to go for surgical treatment earlier. There were some conventional methods such as capsule endoscopy. But, they used to be only diagnostic without any therapeutic potential,” Dr Mukewar said.
The gastroenterologist said that traditional techniques were laborious, time-consuming and need for anaesthesia increased. “Earlier, it used to take up to two hours for complete visualization of the small intestine,” he said.
“This time, the entire small bowel was visualized with spiral enteroscopy across the oral cavity. In only 18 minutes, the scope reached the transverse colon. This technology has revolutionized the field of small bowel endoscopy,” said Dr Saurabh Mukewar.
The motorized spiral enteroscopy system features a long, flexible tube with a rotating tip that allows for precise navigation through the small intestine. The procedure is performed under sedation, and patients typically experience minimal discomfort. A user-controlled motorized handle and a footswitch are given to the operating doctors.
Some of the conditions that can be diagnosed and treated with motorized spiral enteroscopy include obscure gastrointestinal bleeding, small bowel tumours, Crohn’s disease, and small bowel strictures.
The procedure can be performed for taking a biopsy, removing small tumours, dilating narrowing, removing foreign bodies, and stopping bleeding.