Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 15, 2026
Clinical Application of Single-Surgeon, Three-Port, Laparoscopic Resection for Colorectal Cancer with Natural Orifice Specimen Extraction
Published on: March 24, 2023
Success of single-balloon enteroscopy in patients with surgically altered anatomy
Frank C Kurzynske1, Joseph Romagnuolo1, Andrew S Brock1
1Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
Background:
Single-balloon enteroscopy (SBE) was introduced in 2007 to diagnose and treat small-bowel disorders. No study to date has evaluated SBE in patients with surgically altered anatomy outside of ERCP.
Objective:
To evaluate the efficacy, yield, and safety of SBE in patients with surgically altered anatomy.
Design:
Retrospective study.
Setting:
Tertiary-care academic medical center.
Patients:
All patients with altered surgical anatomy who underwent SBE at the Medical University of South Carolina from July 2007 to September 2013.
Interventions:
SBE.
Main Outcome Measurements:
Diagnostic yield, therapeutic yield, technical success, and adverse events.
Results:
A total of 48 patients met inclusion criteria. Mean age was 56 years (77% female). Eleven patients underwent single-balloon PEG placement, 8 single-balloon ERCP, 22 non-PEG/non-ERCP anterograde SBE, and 7 retrograde SBE. Previous surgeries included Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (n=26), small-intestine resection (n=6), colon resection (n=5), Whipple procedure (n=4), choledochojejunostomy (n=3), hepaticojejunostomy (n=1), Billroth I (n=1), Billroth II (n=1), and Puestow procedure (n=1). Procedural indications were PEG tube placement (n=11), choledocholithiasis (n=2), biliary stricture (n=2), obstructive jaundice (n=1), cholangitis (n=1), ampullary mass (n=1), sphincter of Oddi dysfunction (n=1), anemia and/or bleeding (n=15), abdominal pain (n=9), radiologic evidence of obstruction (n=3), and Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (n=2). The technical success rate was 73% in single-balloon PEG placement, 88% in single-balloon ERCP, 82% in other anterograde SBEs, and 86% in retrograde SBEs. No intraprocedural or postprocedural adverse events were observed.
Limitations:
Single center, retrospective study.
Conclusion:
SBE is safe and effective in patients with surgically altered anatomy.
