Intraoperative esophagoscopy, gastroscopy, colonoscopy, and endoscopy of the small bowel

Intraoperative endoscopy of the gastrointestinal tract is probably much more widely used than has been publicized in the recent literature. Application of this new tool to the surgical armamentarium depends only on the limits of the imagination of the operating surgeon and his endoscopist colleague, in most cases, the gastroenterologist. The operative maneuverability of current endoscopes make every portion of the gastrointestinal tract accessible to direct visualization without incision into it, both by the operating surgeon and by the endoscopist. For the full potential of this modality to be realized, the same sort of cooperation between gastrointestinal surgeon and gastroenterologist must be achieved as currently exists between cardiac surgeon and cardiologist and between transplant surgeon and nephrologist. Once this cooperation has been established, application of these tools to gastrointestinal diseases should become commonplace in gastrointestinal surgery.