Advances in gastrointestinal endoscopy

Written by: Dr Sarmed Sami
Published: | Updated: 19/04/2023
Edited by: Conor Dunworth

Current scientific and technological advances enable us to explore and examine the inner workings of the body, making it possible to visualise, diagnose and treat conditions in areas that were, until recently, inaccessible in the digestive system and the bile duct. This is done during a gastrointestinal endoscopy procedure. In his latest online article, renowned consultant gastroenterologist Dr Sarmed Sami explains some of the new perspectives on this procedure.

 

New possibilities

For a long time it has been possible to examine the stomach, the large intestine and part of the small intestine. Now, with the increasing medical sub-specialisation and the use of new endoscopes with state-of-the-art technology, we are able to explore the pathways that connect the intestine with the liver and the pancreas, and diagnose and treat conditions that previously required surgery.

 

Endoscopic capsule

For the areas of the intestine where direct endoscopy cannot reach there is the endoscopic capsule, a technologically avant-garde ally that is ingested as if it were a pill. It transmits images of the inside of our digestive apparatus to a computer without discomfort to the patient. The endoscope enables the collection of samples, removal of polyps and mucosal lesions, treatment of bleeding with bands, injection of medications and laser therapy, detection and extirpation of pre-malignant lesions (which may evolve to cancerous), and the implant of radiotherapy devices and stents to treat and prevent blockages.

 

The bigger picture

These new techniques are not limited to the interior of the digestive system. From the inside of the body and through the walls of the gastrointestinal tract, echo-endoscopy can see organs and lesions that are difficult to assess from the outside and now it is possible to reach them to get samples or to administer treatments. The future, however, lies in the early detection of premalignant lesions through specialised consultations of hereditary familial cancer, making it possible to give approximate estimates of the lifetime risks of certain cancers.

 

Dr Sarmed Sami is a leading consultant gastroenterologist based in London. If you would like to book a consultation with Dr Sami you can do so today via his Top Doctors profile. 

By Dr Sarmed Sami
Gastroenterology

Dr Sarmed Sami is an accomplished consultant gastroenterologist who specialises in acid reflux testing (BRAVO capsule), endoscopy, swallowing problems, stomach pain, diarrhoea, blood in stool, bowel cancer screening, polypectomies, as well as Barrett's oesophagus. He is currently practising at esteemed clinic Digestive Health UK as well as at the Mayo Clinic Healthcare

Dr Sami, who is also an honorary consultant gastroenterologist at University College London Hospital and an honorary associate professor at University College London, is also an expert when it comes to bloating, indigestion, heartburn, IBS, and oesophageal cancer, but to mention only a few. Notably, Dr Sami undertook his specialist training as well as his initial clinical practice at some of the world's most renowned hospitals, including the Mayo Clinic in the United States of America. 

He has been awarded a whole host of prestigious awards during his career so far, including the Fellows-in-Training Award, which was presented to him by the American College of Gastroenterology in recognition of his scientific paper. He has published extensively to-date, and currently offers the London International Upper GI Symposium to GPs.

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