What Is Flexible Endoscopy?

Gastrointestinal endoscopy using a flexible endoscope allows the doctor to access the gastrointestinal tract and surrounding structures through the natural orifices of the mouth and anus. A channel within the endoscope facilitates the introduction of miniature instruments into the gastrointestinal tract to perform a variety of procedures. The gastrointestinal tract includes the bile and pancreatic ducts, which are accessed after the endoscope is advanced into the stomach or small intestine. Using endoscopic ultrasound, organs and structures outside the gastrointestinal tract can also be accessed and treated.

What Is Complex Interventional Endoscopy?

A variety of diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopic procedures are widely performed at community hospital and outpatient surgery centers. Examples include procedures such as screening colonoscopy and polypectomy. The procedures performed at IES differ from those routinely performed in the community by their complexity and the specialized expertise needed to perform them successfully and achieve the best outcomes.

Subspecialization in Complex Interventional Endoscopy

IES Medical Group physicians are subspecialized in complex interventional endoscopy. The Paul May and Frank Stein Interventional Endoscopy Center is unique in that procedural work is 100 percent tertiary and quaternary care, and referred mainly by gastroenterologists and gastrointestinal surgeons. The Center has historically served patients who wish to avoid surgery or are too high risk for surgery, have failed prior endoscopic treatment attempts or do not have any other treatment options. The IES Medical Group physicians at the Center provide such critical service to not only all hospitals within the Sutter system, but also treat the most complicated patients of external hospital systems and the surrounding academic centers. Referrals are received from across the country and across the globe as well. While fulfilling this need, the physicians that make up the IES Medical Group, because they are able to perform procedures that otherwise often could not be done,  provide significant savings in healthcare resources by avoiding costly surgery, reducing costs of hospitalization and minimizing costs of management of post-surgical complications.

Which Conditions Can Be Treated?

Utilizing the most cutting-edge technology not available in most medical facilities, the Paul May and Frank Stein Interventional Endoscopy Center diagnoses and treats an ever-growing list of conditions including:

  • Barrett’s esophagus
  • Benign and malignant stricture
  • Bile and pancreatic cancer
  • Bile and pancreatic stones
  • Variceal bleeding
  • Non-variceal bleeding
  • Fistulas and leaks
  • Zenker’s diverticulum
  • Obesity and diabetes
  • GERD
  • Achalasia
  • Large polyps and early stage cancers
  • Submucosal tumors
  • Pseudocysts, walled off necroses (WON)
  • Acute cholecystitis and gallstones
  • Gastric outlet obstruction

What Procedures Do We Offer?

The Paul May and Frank Stein Interventional Endoscopy Center is dedicated to providing advanced endoscopic treatment for the most complex conditions. The procedures offered—some of which  were developed by Dr. Binmoeller himself—are extremely specialized and provide options not generally available at community hospitals, including: