A team of medical academics made history as they performed South Africa’s first successful bowel enteroscopy procedure. Belonging to the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Division of Medical Gastroenterology, they carried out this groundbreaking operation at Groote Schuur Hospital (GSH).
A bowel enteroscopy procedure helps a physician navigate the entire small bowel from either an oral or rectal approach. However, this new procedure is set to transform the way clinicians access and examine the previously inaccessible small bowel.
In a statement by UCT, Professor Mashiko Setshedi, the head of the Division of Medical Gastroenterology, who led the procedure along with senior consultant Dr Dion Levin, said: “We are so proud of this achievement. Exciting advances are occurring rapidly in the field of gastroenterology, and UCT is front and centre of it all – leading the way for South Africa and the continent”.
This procedure was carried out using the novel PowerSpiral device and demonstrates a significant advancement in the field of gastroenterology. In fact, this advanced technology makes it easier when accessing hard-to-reach organs. Meanwhile, the Gastrointestinal Unit at GSH has received the state-of-the-art PowerSpiral device on loan from manufacturers Olympus Endoscopy for the next three months.
Picture: UCT