Gastroenterology News Archive Featured in the Media JeffNEWS

First there was the swallowed camera, a device to take doctors on an incredible journey through a patient’s small intestine. Now, at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, another innovation lets them make a stop along the way.

“Known as the Double Balloon Endoscopy (DBE) system, this new technology enables physicians to evaluate and treat disorders of the small intestine that were previously inaccessible without invasive surgery,” explains Anthony Infantolino, M.D., clinical director of Endoscopic Ultrasound and Photodynamic Therapy and co-director of the Gastrointestinal Bleeding Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. “It is an advance over the traditional endoscopy because it allows us to visualize the entire 12 to 15 feet of the small intestine.”

“Due to its extraordinary length and location in the body, the majority of the small intestine has been inaccessible when utilizing conventional endoscopic techniques and equipment,” says Mitchell Conn, M.D., co-director of the Gastrointestinal Bleeding Center and director of Endoscopic Training at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.  “The DBE system allows us to reach abnormalities found in the middle and distal small intestine for which we previously would have had to perform surgery for further investigation and possible treatment.”

During the procedure, the patient is sedated and the physician inserts a scope through the mouth and into the patient's small intestine. The procedure is performed on anoutpatient basis and patients may go home the same day.

Previously, the Jefferson physicans were able to diagnose but not treat unexplained bleeding, Crohn’s disease, polyps, arteriovenous malformations (AVM’s) and other disorders of the small intestine by having patients swallow what is known as small bowel camera, a device just slightly larger than a vitamin capsule. (The procedure is known as capsule endoscopy.) The device takes more than 50,000 color pictures of the digestive system while ittravels through the stomach and the small intestine.

“Thomas Jefferson University Hospital was the first in the Delaware Valley to offer this innovative service six years ago,” Dr. Infantolino, who is also clinical assistant professor of Medicine at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, says. “Today, Jefferson University Hospital is one of the top sites in the world for capsule endoscopy and the leading site in the United States.”

For information about treatment for gastrointestinal problems or to make an appointment with a Jefferson digestive disease specialist, call 1-800-JEFF-NOW.