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Physicians
increasingly use endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) to assess
gastrointestinal and lung diseases. EUS can provide detailed,
cost-effective, nonsurgical assessment of certain diseases.
Because it can be technically demanding and complex, an
experienced endoscopist should perform EUS.
EUS involves passing a thin, flexible tube (endoscope) through
a patient's mouth or anus. A small ultrasound transducer in
the endoscope produces sound waves that create a viewable
image of surrounding tissue. Physicians use EUS to examine the
lining and walls of the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract
and nearby organs such as the pancreas, liver, and
gallbladder.
When combined with fine-needle aspiration, EUS is a minimally
invasive, state-of-the-art alternative to exploratory surgery
to remove tissue samples from abdominal and other organs.
Physicians also use EUS to guide pseudocyst drainage,
injections, and painkilling treatments.
Endoscopic ultrasound is used to:
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Stage
gastrointestinal and lung cancers, including esophageal,
gastric, rectal and pancreatic cancers. EUS can accurately
determine how deeply a tumor penetrates the gut wall.
Examining the size, shape and ultrasound appearance of
adjacent lymph nodes also helps determine whether cancer has
spread.
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Detect
common bile duct stones. Stones in the bile tubes leading from
the gallbladder to the intestine have traditionally been
detected by an endoscopic retrograde cholangiogram (ERCP), an
invasive test. EUS is less invasive and can detect these
stones with equal accuracy.
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Assess
masses in the submucosal lining of the gastrointestinal tract.
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Assess
enlarged stomach folds that may be involved with cancer deep
in the stomach wall and unreachable by surface biopsies.
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Diagnose
diseases of the internal organs, such as of the pancreas, such
as chronic pancreatitis or cysts of the pancreas.
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Safely and
accurately collect fluid samples from the lungs or the
abdominal cavity for analysis. |
Conditions Diagnosed with Endoscopic Ultrasound
EUS may be used to determine the cause of symptoms such as
abdominal pain, to evaluate a growth (tumor), and to diagnose
diseases of the digestive tract and lungs.
Physicians use EUS to evaluate the following organs and
problems:
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Anal
sphincter and incontinence |
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Barrett's
esophagus with high-grade dysplasia |
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Neuroendocrine tumors |
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Common bile
duct stones |
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Gastric
cancer/MALT lymphoma |
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Esophageal
cancer |
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Lung cancer
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Pancreatic
cancer |
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Pancreatitis |
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Cystic
neoplasms of the pancreas |
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Rectal
cancer |
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Rectal
fistulas |
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Smooth
muscle tumors |
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Enlarged
lymph nodes |
For
additional information about this procedure, please select the
following to link to the American Society of Gastrointestinal
Endoscopy (ASGE) website:
http://www.asge.org/PatientInfoIndex.aspx
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