Role of Intraoperative Endoscopy in the Management of Small Bowel Diseases

With the advances in the endoscopic technology, most of the small bowel diseases are being diagnosed by capsule endoscopy and device assisted enteroscopy. However, there are many clinical situations such as small bowel obstruction, foreign body impaction were these advanced endoscopic procedures cannot be performed. In such cases, intraoperative endoscopy plays a vital role in the management of these small bowel diseases. Intraoperative endoscopy is also very useful in identification of the site of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding in difficult cases. Moreover, capsule endoscopy and device assisted enteroscopy are expensive procedures and not readily available at all medical centers especially in low income countries. On the other hand, intraoperative endoscopy can be easily performed by conventional gastroscope and colonoscope. In this chapter, we have discussed the indications, techniques, outcomes and complications of intraoperative endoscopy in the current era of deep enteroscopy.