Balloon-Assisted Enteroscopy

초록

Ongoing advancements in small bowel enteroscopy have facilitated the diagnosis and treatment of small bowel diseases. Over the past 50 years, numerous innovative techniques have been explored for visualizing the small bowel. In the twenty-first century, a safe, comfortable, and broadly applicable form of small bowel enteroscopy became available. Enteroscopy enables real-time visualization of the small bowel and allows for biopsies or therapeutic intervention on lesions. The main types of enteroscopy are balloon-assisted, push, and intraoperative enteroscopy. Balloon-assisted enteroscopy (BAE) includes double-balloon and single-balloon enteroscopy. Double-balloon enteroscopy enables the deepest insertion into the small bowel but requires more procedure time. Single-balloon enteroscopy is considered the less complicated procedure. No significant differences were found in diagnostic yields, therapeutic yields, or complications between double-balloon and single-balloon enteroscopy. BAE performed on patients who require diagnostic and therapeutic interventions for small-bowel lesions. The primary indications of BAE include the diagnosis and treatment of small-bowel bleeding and obstructive smallbowel lesions, tissue biopsies for the differential diagnosis of inflammatory or malignant diseases, and therapeutic interventions such as endoscopic mucosal resection. Performing capsule endoscopy prior to BAE enhances the diagnostic yield for small bowel lesions. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2025.