Nawaloka Hospital offers Single Balloon Endoscopy
Today’s fast moving work schedules and heightened stress levels, particularly for business professionals and executives, have resulted in an upsurge in ailments like gastritis, ulcers, etc. And these are becoming more and more common, especially in Sri Lanka. This is why the Endoscopy Unit of Nawaloka Hospital is currently offering the country’s only single balloon endoscope (SBE), a diagnostic medical device that utilises fibre-optic video technology to view the interior of the stomach as well as the large and small intestines.
In recent times, the advent of endoscopes has significantly improved the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the oesophagus, stomach, duodenum and colon, with the final frontier being the small intestines, which is today addressed by balloon endoscopy. Endoscopes are medical diagnostic devices used to examine the interior of the body, with special emphasis on the upper and lower gastro-intestinal tract.
SBE utilises a 200-centimetre long flexible fibre optic endoscope, a thin tube which is two centimetres in diameter, with a light and camera at the tip. It is fitted with an equally long overtube that slides along the full length of the endoscope. On the tip of the overtube is a balloon that can be blown up and deflated. The balloon, when blown up, is used to anchor the overtube within the intestines. While the overtube is anchored, the endoscope can be advanced further into the small intestine and, when withdrawing the overtube, the small intestine can be shortened and straightened to make the passage of the inner endoscope easier. The balloon may then be deflated so that the overtube can be inserted further, and the endoscope advanced further again. The endoscope itself is a standard endoscope with working channels that allow it to be inflated, with air rinsed with water, or to guide biopsy or electrocautery instruments to the tip of the endoscope.
Further, Sri Lanka’s only SBE, available at Nawaloka Hospital, is the preferred option for examination, as only a single balloon is used. This significantly reduces examination time and, at the same time, significantly improves patient comfort levels.