(ANSA) – ASCOLI PICENO, OCTOBER 26 – At the ‘Mazzoni’ hospital in Ascoli Piceno, the first gastro-entero anastomosis was performed via endoscopic ultrasound for the treatment of an oncological pathology. It is a minimally invasive technique, carried out completely internally endoscopically, without abdominal cuts or external drainage. The delicate operation was carried out in the operating room by the director of the gastroenterology and interventional endoscopy unit of the Ast, Filippo Antonini, assisted by his nursing team and that of the operating block of the ‘Mazzoni’ hospital. The procedure was performed on a 74-year-old patient from Abruzzo, suffering from cancer of the head of the pancreas which had caused intestinal obstruction, making feeding impossible.
“The patient turned to our operating unit for a malignant gastric occlusion which had prevented him from eating for several weeks – explains Filippo Antonini -. We therefore performed an operation using ultrasound endoscopy to create a direct connection between the stomach and intestine by positioning a small internal metal prosthesis, thus allowing food to pass over the obstacle”.
The alternative is surgery, with much higher risks of complications and very long post-operative hospital stays. The patient was awake and free of any discomfort a few minutes after the procedure and, just 48 hours after the operation, he was discharged able to feed himself independently. “This procedure – continues the director of the UOSD of gastroenterology and interventional endoscopy of the Ast of Ascoli – is performed in very few centers in Italy and is added to the many others already activated in recent months by our operational unit, such as drainage ultrasound-guided imaging of the biliary tract, gallbladder and abdominal collections, as well as the possibility of performing interventions directly within the biliary tract during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)”. (HANDLE).