In accordance with the standards of the most specialized centers abroad, and with the aim of safer and more effective imaging examinations, as well as the early diagnosis of severe conditions, Henry Dunant Hospital Center has reinforced its equipment with a latest generation endoscopic ultrasound. The new equipment follows a general plan which involves the continuous reinforcement of Henry Dunant Hospital Center with state-of-the-art technology, while at the same time offering new capabilities to the hospital’s Gastroenterology clinics and additional armor to their patients.
Endoscopic ultrasound – EUS is an imaging ultrasound method, which enables the in-depth assessment of the gastrointestinal wall, ensuring a more complete imaging of various solid organs, such as the liver, pancreas and spleen, from a very close distance. With the new endoscopic method, we can also examine the mediastinum, the lymph nodes, the bile vessels and the great intra-abdominal vessels.
From the patient’s point of view, the examination does not differ significantly from a simple endoscopy. Medicines are administered which cause relaxation or “conscious sedation”. The examination takes about 30 minutes and is completely painless. The patient does not need to be hospitalized and is free to continue his/her daily routine after the examination.
With their specialized medical staff in the application of endoscopic ultrasound, the Gastroenterology clinics of Henry Dunant Hospital Center, among other things, ensure the following:
- Study and staging of esophageal, stomach and rectal/anal cancer.
- Differential diagnosis of submucosal tumors of the digestive tract and FNA/ FNB in cases where indicated.
- Study of solid lesions of the pancreatic parenchyma and FNA/FNB.
- Diagnostic and therapeutic drainage of pancreatic pseudocysts and cystic lesions.
- EUS-guided biopsies from mediastinal and abdominal lymph nodes to investigate their nature.
- Diagnosis of benign (e.g., microlithiasis) and malignant biliary lesions (such as cholangiocarcinoma) difficult to diagnose by conventional abdominal ultrasound or CT scan.
- Study of Portal Hypertension and diagnosis of incipient esophageal varices, ectopic varices and development of collateral circulation.
- Treatment of chronic pain in patients with malignant diseases (e.g., pancreatic cancer), by celiac neurolyis plexus.
Moreover, the clinics offer intratumoral placement of chemotherapeutic and other agents for the local treatment of malignant tumors, as well as cauterization of neoplasms by local application of radio waves (RF) using special catheters, guided by endoscopic ultrasound.
