Interventional balloon-enteroscopy

Balloon assisted enteroscopy (BE) expands greatly the therapeutic options in interventional endoscopy; bleeding sites, strictures, polyps, and other small bowel lesions are increasingly been treated by use of BE in the last 10 years. Treatment options for small bowel bleeding include Argon plasma coagulation (APC), injection therapy, and application of TTS metal clips, and thereby bleeding is stopped in most cases. Dilating symptomatic strictures, resecting polyps as seen in Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS), and removing foreign bodies, BE carries most endoscopic treatment techniques to the small bowel. Another new indication field for BE are interventions at the biliary system in patients with surgically modified anatomy such as Roux-Y anastomosis. This review offers a full overview on indications of BE and refers to the practical use of the method for all endoscopic interventions.