Interventional Endoscopy

Interventional Endoscopy at SEVG offers patients a safe and effective alternative to more invasive diagnostic testing or surgery. An endoscope is a thin, flexible tube with a tiny video camera that provides a clear detailed view of your digestive tract. The advanced technology used at SEVG allows for evaluation and management of various complex digestive disorders using a procedure with fewer complications, lower costs and quicker recovery; in most cases, patients go home the day of their procedure.

What sets SEVG apart?

Our interventional endoscopists at SEVG each have highly specialized training and experience from the leading programs in the country. We are recognized, trusted experts in advanced endoscopic procedures and patients are referred to us not just from the Phoenix area but from across Arizona and out-of-state. Furthermore we work closely with multidisciplinary teams of physicians for example surgeons, oncologists, hepatologists, and radiologists.

Specialized Techniques

SEVG expertise and advanced technology includes:

  • Endoscopic Ultrasound/Fine Needle Aspiration (EUS/FNA)
  • Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
  • Esophageal and BRAVO pH monitoring
  • Video Capsule Endoscopy

Endoscopic Ultrasound/Fine Needle Aspiration (EUS/FNA)

EUS combines endoscopy with ultrasound technology and allows your SEVG doctor to examine the stomach lining, the walls of the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract and associated internal organs like the gall bladder and pancreas. EUS can be used to diagnose conditions such as abdominal pain or abnormal weight loss and can evaluate diseases of the pancreas, bile duct or gallbladder. EUS/FNA can also help accurately assess cancers and may be used to obtain biopsy samples.

Indications include:

  • Cancer staging (esophageal, gastric, pancreas, bile duct, rectal, and lung).
  • Sub-epithelial lesions of GI tract (lipomas, leiomyoma/ sarcoma, GIST, pancreatic rest, carcinoids, granular cells)
  • Pancreaticobiliary disorders (pancreatic cysts, chronic pancreatitis, missed bile duct stones on conventional radiological imaging)
  • Interventional EUS – Pain control by celiac plexus block for patients with pancreatic cancer, endoscopic mucosal resection of GI sub-epithelial lesions, localized injection of chemotherapy in tumors/fiducial seeds for radiation therapy)

Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)

ERCP is a specialized technique using side-viewing upper endoscope, combined with X-Ray, to study the drainage ducts of the gallbladder, pancreas and liver. The procedure is used primarily to diagnose and treat conditions of the bile ducts, including gallstones, inflammatory blockages from scarring, leaks (from trauma and surgery) and cancer. ERCP is a relatively safe and minimally invasive alternative to surgery for pancreaticobiliary disorders, but only appropriately trained endoscopists such as those at SEVG should perform ERCP.