Rigid and Flexible
Endoscopy
Endoscopy is derived from two words - the
Greek "Endon" meaning inside and "Scopeo" meaning to look at. Over the past few
years there have been major advances in surgeons ability to "look inside" their
patients and to perform quite complex operations through tiny incisions. This
has given rise to the term "keyhole surgery."Over the past few years at Elands Veterinary Clinicwe have been developing our skills and techniques in rigid endoscopy or "Keyhole surgery", to compliment our flexible endoscope. We have recently invested a great deal in broadening our range of equipment, as well as training with experts in the field from the USA and elsewhere. We can now offer a wide range of minimally invasive procedures in this exciting new field of surgery. These techniques have only been available in human medicine for the past five years or so, and we are one of only very few general practices in the UK, or indeed the world, to offer this service. The advantages to our patients are the same as to human patients. Recovery times are greatly reduced, there is considerably less trauma to body tissues, meaning less post operative discomfort - and because the field of view is magnified and the endoscope can reach places the unaided eye cannot, many procedures can be performed much better with the aid of endoscopy.
"Rigid" vs "Flexible"
Rigid Endoscopes.....
....are small tubular telescopes that enable the operator to look inside joints and body cavities and carry out surgical procedures using special endoscopic instruments. They are used in conjunction with a camera system, so that the surgeon can view a greatly magnified image
of the tissues and organs
on a television screen. Rigid endoscopes are used for surgery of thejoints (arthroscopy),
abdominal surgery (laparoscopy),
and chest surgery (thoracoscopy) - as well as for looking into the
urinary bladder (cystoscopy)
and nose (rhinoscopy).
Surgical instruments such as biopsy forceps can be inserted through a channel in the endoscope sheath, or in more complex surgery, through additional small incisions or "ports". Gasses and fluids can also be instilled or sucked out through these ports, giving a very flexible operating system.
In fact it has been said that you can put an endoscope into any orifice you can find..... and if you can't find one you can make one!
Click on picture above to view endoscopy movie of liver biopsy in a dog (quicktime)
Click on icon to the right to download Apple Quicktime viewer -
Flexible Endoscopes.....
are long flexible tubes filed with fibre-optic glass rods which convey the image to the camera ordirectly to an operator's eye. Flexible
endoscopes are extremely useful for viewing the inside of stomach and
intestines,
where the endoscope may have to pass a
long distance into the body, and around twists and curves. Again, instruments
such as biopsy forceps can be passed through a special instrument channel in
the endoscope and gas can be instilled or suction applied as required.Benefits
The benefits of endoscopy have been widely felt in the human field, where endoscopy is still a relatively new science and is advancing all the time. The main benefits for the patient are the rapid recovery time and relative lack of discomfort following surgery. Although lack of scarring seldom worries our patients themselves, this can be seen as an added bonus to their owners!From the surgeons point of view, endoscopy allows us to perform many operations that are not possible with conventional surgery, as well as to carry out other operations in a less invasive manner. We can inspect the abdominal cavity for instance, much more completely and with a magnified image, than is possible with conventional open surgery. Arthroscopy gives us a much better view of the joint space than is possible with conventional joint surgery and there is no other way of inspecting the inside of the nose or bladder in such detail without major surgical intervention. Coupled with a more pleasant and quicker recovery, this is the way surgery will develop in the future.
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