The lower esophageal sphincter is a bothersome little junction that so often fails to do its job: either it’s too loose and burps up hot acid after each meal, or it’s too tight and won’t let anything down. Although we jam all sorts of devices down there to determine the need for surgical intervention, it’s […]

[Read more →]

 
At SAGES we got the distinct impression that every surgical procedure known to man has a one-way ticket to NOTESville. If that’s the case, then surgeons will need to get a lot more comfortable manipulating endoscopes, as their unintuitive controls tend to frighten novices. We stopped over at the Simbionix booth to check out their GI […]

[Read more →]

During the SAGES emerging technologies session, which to us was like an early Christmas, Dr. Dmitry Nepomnayshy presented his experience using the EndoBarrier, an endoscopically-deployed impermeable tube that is placed in the duodenum to prevent absorption.
Two patients have received the full treatment so far; within twelve weeks, one lost 11 pounds and the other 26 pounds. […]

[Read more →]