The GI fluoroscopy suite in the early twenty-first century

Since the application of cross-sectional imaging to the examination of the gastrointestinal tract, dramatic changes have occurred in the modern gastrointestinal fluoroscopic suite. Besides the great decrease in use of fluoroscopy, the types of fluoroscopic examinations requested and performed nowadays are different from those of just 2 or 3 decades ago. This paper will review the recent history and the current uses of fluoroscopy in adults at the beginning of the twenty-first century, illustrated by case images and utilization data from a large academic medical center. Fluoroscopy survives because of its unique illustration of motility in real-time, its superior detection and accurate localization of leaks in post-operative patients, and its ability to provide immediate answers and targeted examinations tailored to the individual patient.