Therapeutic Endoscopy Treatment Options Available at Mercy

Mercy offers the following therapeutic endoscopy treatment options:

• Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
• Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)
• Endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR)
• Interventional endoscopic placement of stents and other treatments
• Endoscopic drainage

Additional therapeutic endoscopy treatments include the placement of ambulatory 48-hour wireless pH monitors for assessment of patients with GERD symptoms. Cancerous lesions can be removed using therapeutic endoscopy procedures known as ablation and debulking to bypass obstruction and alleviate symptoms. 

Many of the therapeutic endoscopy procedures performed at the Institute are not available at many major teaching institutions, including:

• Removal of complicated, large and/or flat polyps, allowing treatment through the colonoscope rather than surgical treatment
• Endoscopic mucosal resection for Barrett’s esophagus and early gastric cancers
• Placement of palliative biliary stents in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer or biliary cancer to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life
• Endoscopic drainage of pancreatic fluid collections related to chronic pancreatitis
• Endoscopic ultrasound for primary staging and lymph node aspiration in pulmonary cancer, esophageal cancer, stomach cancer, pancreatic cancer, and colon cancer