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VALLEY
BAPTIST USING “SPY GLASS” DEVICE TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT PATIENTS
WITH GASTROINTESTINAL PROBLEMS
Harlingen, June 06, 2008 --
New technology at Valley Baptist Medical Center is making a
tremendous difference for Valley patients, with the latest device
allowing doctors to “spy” on conditions deep inside the
gastrointestinal tract.
 A new “Spy Glass” device being used at Valley Baptist is helping
physicians evaluate and diagnose various gastrointestinal
conditions, including gallstones, certain malignancies, cystic
lesions, and
bile duct stricture (an obstruction caused by narrowing
of the bile duct, which prevents a fluid used in digestion,
bile,
from draining into the intestine).
Valley Baptist-Harlingen recently became the first hospital in the
Valley to install the Spy Glass system, and it is providing
much-improved pictures for physicians – and benefiting patients by
helping to reduce the need for additional testing and repeat
procedures.
The new device is used to view a patient's biliary system
(gallbladder, bile ducts, etc.) while he or she is undergoing a
procedure known as “endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.”
ERCP uses a long, flexible, lighted tube which allows doctors to see
the inside of the stomach and the first part of the small intestine.
"The Spy Glass system is state-of-the-art technology," said Aurelia
Borrego, RN, CGRN, of the VBMC-Harlingen Endoscopy Center. "The Spy
Glass is so small that it can be placed in the small duct of the
liver and pancreas."
The Spy Glass device is comprised of a 6,000-pixel fiber optic probe
attached to a camera and a screen. As it travels through the duct,
the probe films along the way, enabling physicians to visually
inspect the treatment area and detect any irregularities.
 "From a biopsy perspective, it's the most efficient system used
today," Mrs. Borrego said. "Before Spy Glass, we have had to perform
up to three separate procedures with fine needle aspirations (a
biopsy taken to diagnose cancer) without conclusively reaching a
diagnosis, but now with Spy Glass, we have the capability to biopsy
during one procedure and reach a definitive diagnosis.”
Spy Glass is useful for a diagnostic “work-up” when a person has a
yellow appearance (a condition called jaundice), abnormal weight
loss, an obstructive bile duct, or various other symptoms.
"Also, if the patient has an abnormal CT Scan, we use the Spy Glass
to look inside," Mrs. Borrego said. “This helps in the effort to
take care of a problem before it becomes more difficult to treat."
Cholangioscopy (an examination of the bile ducts using an endoscope)
has been possible for more than 30 years and its benefits are
documented in published studies. However, the technology has not
been widely adopted because of the cost and limitations of available
devices. Boston Scientific of Massachusetts designed the SpyGlass
system to help overcome these hurdles and to make cholangioscopy
available for a larger number of patients. The old Cholangioscopy
exam (which used a “mother/daughter” scope set-up system) required
two gastroenterologists to operate the two scopes, but for the SpyGlass only one physician is necessary.
Gastroenterologists on the medical staff at Valley Baptist-Harlingen
include
Dr. Michael Berg,
Dr. Wayne Green,
Dr. Oral James,
Dr. Nolan Perez, and
Dr. Jason Phillips. Rosa Gonzalez, RN, serves as Nurse Manager
for Endoscopy at Valley Baptist-Harlingen.
For more information on gastrointestinal problems, consult your
doctor and visit
www.ValleyBaptist.net.
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