A Novel Snare Traction-Assisted Method During Endoscopic Resection for Upper Gastrointestinal Submucosal Tumors

Traction-assisted endoscopic resection is an approach to provide better procedural outcomes than conventional endoscopic procedure in treating gastric or esophageal epithelial lesions. Submucosal tumors (SMTs) are challenging to resect endoscopically due to the difficulty in exposure and high incidence of full-thickness resection. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of snare traction-assisted method, served as an "extra hand," for upper gastrointestinal SMTs. From June 2019 to May 2020, we used the snare traction-assisted method to treat 11 patients with 12 upper gastrointestinal SMTs in the Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University. The duration of the procedures and the outcomes were recorded. A total of 11 patients with 12 lesions were treated by snare traction-assisted endoscopic resection. The mean procedure time was 26.8 ± 8.3 minutes. En bloc resection was achieved in all the 12 lesions. The mean length of the specimens was 11.5 ± 4.0 mm. Full-thickness resection was performed in four lesions. The patients were discharged in 5.0 days after procedures without delayed bleeding or other complication reported. Snare traction-assisted method is an effective tool for endoscopic resection of upper gastrointestinal SMTs. Further prospective studies comparing the snare traction-assisted method with the conventional procedure are necessary.