In the small intestine, called the small bowel, the stomach connects with the large intestine (colon). Many painful conditions affect the small intestine, such as Crohn’s disease and celiac disease (an immune disease caused by eating gluten-containing foods).

To determine the cause of your discomfort, the location of the issue in your digestive tract, and the severity of the problem, Advanced Gastroenterology uses several diagnostic procedures. An example of such a procedure is a small-bowel endoscopy, also known as a deep endoscopy. Despite the time and coordination involved in the procedure, some other digestive centers do not offer small-bowel endoscopy, but it helps us diagnose our patients accurately.

An endoscopy of the small intestine is a minimally invasive procedure in which we examine your entire 20-foot-long small intestine. An endoscope has a light and a video camera, and we attach special balloons to it. Through the inflating and deflating of the balloons, we move the small bowel over the endoscope.

By using the endoscope, we can diagnose the cause of your symptoms in nearly any part of the small intestine. The endoscope can also be used to pass tiny tools into your small bowel, if needed, to treat your condition.

A hospital or outpatient center performs a small bowel enteroscopy. Anesthetics can be gargled or sprayed on the back of the throat to provide local anesthesia. In addition to relaxing the gag reflex, the anesthetic numbs the throat. If a sedative is to be administered, an intravenous (IV) needle will be placed in an arm vein. It is important for patients to remain relaxed and comfortable when taking sedatives. During sedation, vital signs are monitored by doctors and other medical staff. The procedure is carried out on an examination table with the patient lying on their back or side. Endoscopes are carefully inserted down the esophagus and into the stomach and duodenum. The intestinal lining can be examined up close using a small camera mounted on the endoscope. The stomach and duodenum are inflated with air through the endoscope so they are easier to see. A doctor can perform biopsies, stop bleeding, and remove abnormal growths with special tools that slide through the endoscope.

The small intestine, located between the stomach and large intestine, can be viewed through an enteroscopy. Endoscopies examine the upper gastrointestinal system (esophagus, stomach, and small intestine). During an endoscopy, an endoscope with a camera and light is used. In an enteroscopy, the tool is also equipped with a device that allows it to go deeper into your intestine.

In an enteroscopy, the small intestine (small bowel) is examined and issues are treated simultaneously. It is difficult to reach this part of the intestine because it is over 20 feet long and just one inch wide. Enteroscopy, double balloon enteroscopy, single balloon enteroscopy, and spiral enteroscopy are all techniques gastroenterologists may use to gain deep access to the small intestine. An enteroscope that uses both a balloon and a spiral is known as a deep enteroscope.

Your upper digestive system is visually examined during an upper endoscopy, also called an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. This is done by using a long, flexible tube with a tiny camera attached to it. The upper part of the digestive system is diagnosed and sometimes treated with an endoscopy by a gastroenterologist (specialist in digestive diseases). During an upper endoscopy, conditions that affect the upper part of the digestive system are diagnosed and sometimes treated. There are three parts of the upper digestive system: the esophagus, the stomach, and the beginning of the small intestine (duodenum).

Small bowel enteroscopy is available at Advanced Gastroenterology.

We serve patients from Orlando FL, Kissimmee FL, St. Cloud FL, Meadow Woods FL, Celebration FL, Williamsburg FL, Buenaventura Lakes FL, and Hunters Creek FL.