[Peutz-Jeghers syndrome: endoscopic detection and treatment of small bowel polyps by double-balloon enteroscopy]

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) is characterised by a combination of hamartomatous gastrointestinal polyps and mucocutaneous melanin pigmentation. The polyps occur mainly in the small bowel and can lead to intestinal obstruction, intussusception and bleeding. Until only a few years ago, primary surgical resection and intraoperative endoscopy and polypectomy were the only available means of treating polyps in the mid-small bowel in these patients. With the introduction of double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE), we now have not only an improved diagnostic tool but also a non-surgical treatment option.

Between March 2003 and September 2006 a total of 16 patients with PJS were examined by DBE and treated endoscopically. The size, number and location of the diagnosed and endoscopically resected small-bowel polyps were documented as were all complications associated with the examination or treatment.

A total of 47 DBE-procedures were performed (oral approach 39, anal approach 8). The examinations revealed a total of 178 polyps. 47 polyps were removed by endoscopic polypectomy on the grounds of their size and/or gross appearance. The largest small-bowel polyp resected was 50 mm (min. 15 mm, max. 50 mm). A total of four complications occurred (2 episodes of bleeding with a fall in Hb, 1 perforation, 1 propofol-associated decrease in oxygen saturation).

DBE is a safe and reliable procedure for the diagnosis of small-bowel polyps in patients with PJS. In addition to macroscopic assessment and biopsy of suspicious areas, it permits the exact localisation as well as preoperative marking of polyps that are primary candidates for surgery. DBE revolutionises the therapeutic options for polyps in the region of the mid-small bowel and limits the indications for primary surgical management.