"Japanese Treatment for Colon Polyps Catching On Here?"
Almost half of all adults in the U.S. develop colon polyps during their lifetime, growths that are often benign, but sometimes develop into cancer. Now, one doctor at the Mount Sinai Hospital is advocating a procedure developed in Japan for removing and testing some of them. The procedure, called ESD or endoscopic submucosal dissection, uses an endoscope while doctors inject fluid into the layer of the bowel next to the polyp-creating a working space. Then doctors use the scope to deliver an electric current, like a laser. “The scope is being used to actually draw around the lesion and cut layer by layer to get the polyps removed,” said Richard Whelan, MD, a colorectal surgeon at The Mount Sinai Hospital. Dr. Whelan is one of only a handful of surgeons and GI doctors performing ESD in the United States. He said doctors need more training, and hospitals will need to invest in specialized equipment before ESD can catch on.
— Richard Whelan, MD, Professor, Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Colorectal Surgeon, The Mount Sinai Hospital