The technology utilized is considered one of the best test for the evaluation and management of newly diagnosed gallstone disease, esophageal, pancreatic and rectal cancer, according to Robert Dettmer, M.D., SHS Gastroenterologist who is the only area doctor certified to perform the procedure.
Endoscopic ultrasound is performed by gastroenterologists in a manner similar to routine endoscopy.
After the patient is given medication to make him or her comfortable, a long flexible tube about the diameter of a pen is passed through the mouth into the stomach and duodenum. Once the tube is in position, a miniature ultrasound probe attached to the tip of the tube is turned on. Since the probe is directly adjacent to the organ in question, the image is not obstructed by bone, muscle, fat or air. As a result, the physician is able to examine different parts of the gastrointestinal tract in greater detail. Endoscopic ultrasonography is perhaps the most noteworthy advance in endoscopic technology in the past 20 years, according to a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine.