Endoscope expands McCready surgical services

McCready Memorial Hospital patients with breathing and digestive tract disorders can now have a simple, painless surgical procedure to diagnose – and often fix – what may be wrong.

The hospital’s surgical team uses a $100,000 endoscope – a surgical tool that allows doctors to look inside a patient’s airways and lungs or the digestive system, for an up-close, high-definition picture, according to Lisa Kraus, McCready's surgical services nurse manager.

Endoscopy is considered minimally invasive diagnostic surgery.  If performed early when a health problem is suspected or as a precautionary procedure – it can avert the need for major surgery later.

By “using an endoscope,” Kraus said, “the surgeon can detect and remove very tiny polyps inside the bowel. These growths, if not removed, can eventually turn into cancer – requiring major surgery to open the intestines and remove affected sections.”

McCready’s endoscope can utilize a rigid or flexible tube containing a light-delivery system to illuminate the organ under inspection. The light is directed via an optical fiber system, or fiberscope. A special lens transmits the image being viewed deep inside the body to a high-definition screen in the operating room.

The endoscope also has an additional channel through which the surgeon passes minuscule instruments to remove growths, cauterize blood vessels, inject medications and wash away bits of organic matter that might obstruct the view. If suspicious growths are found, the surgeon can retrieve samples for a biopsy – a closer look under a microscope conducted by the hospital’s pathologist.

At McCready Memorial Hospital, general surgeon Sidney Barnes, M.D., uses endoscopy to examine a patient’s esophagus (food pipe), stomach, and upper part of the small intestine. This procedure is called upper endoscopy.

In a lower endoscopy, Barnes can examine the colon or large intestine. Similarly, during a bronchoscopy, he looks inside the airways and the lungs.

An endoscopy is usually painless, because it is done under light anesthesia. It takes about two hours, including preparation for the procedure and a brief recovery afterwards.