Endoscopic procedure
performed at Sulphur Springs Vet Clinic

Example of a rigid endoscope

Example of a flexible endoscope

Endoscopic procedure being performed at Sulphur Springs Vet Clinic.  Note the 3 tiny incisions used in the minimally invasive procedure.

What procedures are being done in small animal practice using endoscopes?

Endoscopic surgery can be done to make a diagnosis, such as obtaining biopsy of an organ that history, examinations and laboratory studies suggest is not working properly. This can result in more dire, and appropriate treatment.

Another widespread of endoscopy is to diagnose the type and spread of cancer. With an endoscope we can obtain a more accurate understanding of the cancer and provide information to recommend specific cancer treatment.

As a tool for determining whether cancer is treatable, endoscopy reduces the size of surgical openings, reduces anesthesia, and reduces the surgical stresses associated with more invasive procedures. Many terminal patients can have extension of good quality life following endoscopic surgery. The procedure can spare your pet from the traditional approach of euthanizing terminal patients during anesthesia, rather than permitting them to recover from a major surgery.

What diagnostic procedures can be done with a rigid scope?

• Thoracic exploration and biopsies
• Abdominal exploratory and biopsies
  (liver, kidney, pancreas, lymph nodes, small intestines, prostate, etc)
• Endoscopic examination and biopsies of urinary bladder, nose, and ears
• Biopsy for diagnosis and staging of cancer

Surgical endoscopy is an exciting new area in the treatment of animals.  Endoscopic surgeries use much smaller openings resulting in less tissue injury.  The successful use of rigid endoscopes in treating people has accelerated their application in human medicine. Examples of rigid endoscopic surgeries in humans include laparoscopic removal of diseased gall bladders.

What treatments are being done as minimally invasive treatments?

• Laparoscopic incisional gastropexy (A procedure done to tack the right side of the stomach to the right side of the body wall using minimally invasive surgery)
• Laparoscopic enterostomy tube placement (Procedure used for placement of a tube for feeding nutritional liquids.)
• Laparoscopic cyptorchid castration (Castration of male animal that has testicle retained in the body cavity)

Scoping procedures currently being performed as treatments in dogs and cats include:

• Colopexy for recurrent rectal prolapse (Repair of prolapsed rectum)
• Cystopexy for retroflexed bladder in perineal hernia (Hernia and bladder repair)
• Cystoscopic calculi removal (Removal of kidney stones)
• Gastrostomy for foreign body removal  (Removal of foreign objects from the gastrointestinal tract including the throat, stomach, small and large intestines.)
• Ovariohysterectomy (Spaying of female pets)
• Thoracoscopic pericardial resection for pericardial effusion (Treatment for fluid around the heart)
• Thoracoscopic assisted lung lobectomy (Removal of diseased parts of the lung)
• Thorascoscopic correction of persistent right aeortic arch (Repair of the heart)
• Thoracoscopic thoracic duct ligation for chylothorax (Repair Chylothorax a condition in which lymphatic fluid collects between the lungs and within the chest wall.)

Sulphur Springs Veterinary Clinic is fully equipped to perform several types of diagnostic and treatment scoping procedures including but not limited to:

• Arthroscopy - evaluation of a joint
• Broncoscopy - lungs
• Colonoscopy - evaluation of the Colon
• Cystoscopy - evaluation of the bladder
• Duodenoscopy - evaluation of the upper portion of the intestine
• Endoscopy - upper and lower gastrointestinal (digestive) tract
• Esophagogastroduodenoscopy - evaluation of the esophagus, stomach, and upper portion of the intestine
• Gastroscopy - evaluation of the stomach
• Laparoscopy - evaluation of the abdominal cavity
• Otoscopy - evaluation of the ear canal
• Rhinoscopy - evaluation of the nasal cavity
• Thoracoscopy - evaluation of the chest cavity

CLICK HERE TO SEE AN EXAMPLE OF AN OTOSCOPY

CLICK HERE TO SEE AN EXAMPLE OF A RHINOSCOPY