The landscape of upper GI endoscopy is changing – at least the equipment is, anyway!
As digital instrumentation continues to grow, the number of the ‘older’ style fibrescopes are declining. Gone are the days where you can pick up a half-decent fibrescope for £2,000 and expect it to last you for the next 10 years.
The Xenon light sources that make an awful noise and blow bulbs every other use are also harder and harder to get hold of. Second hand, functional, fibrescopes are now getting more expensive and the digital ones are reducing in cost.
A better option
It’s time to go digital! The image quality is a significant step up from the fibre and, depending on your budget, there are a multitude of options to suit your needs, from multi-modal stacks to more portable options that connect simply to a laptop. They are all, however, significantly better than fibre tech.
The end-point of the investment is to get flexible endoscopy back into your practice. We have been to many sites where the fibrescope is hanging neglected in a corner having not been used after it failed for the umpteenth time, or the vet that knew how to use it moved on.
A functioning flexible scope is usually the first thing on people’s wish list of scopes and this is closely followed by the need to use it well.
Investments into equipment need to show a return and a gastroscope will take a little while longer than some equipment to repay itself. But when used to achieve medically relevant goals in a clinical situation, you will find yourself going back to it again and again, meaning the rate at which you use it and pay back your investment speeds up.
Find out more
If you want to experience an upper GI ‘journey’ spliced together from a few medical cases to appreciate what a digital scope will actually look like, head over to our YouTube channel and enjoy the ride.
Achieving these images and samples takes a little practice and nothing beats in vivo training. CPD courses on models teach the technicalities of the process, but nothing beats actually navigating a live case that you need samples from.
Avoid open-surgery biopsies by harvesting rewarding duodenal samples endoscopically and finally put a logical, reasoned, clinical plan in place for the persistent vomiting/diarrhoea cases you can’t stabilise.
In-house, on site, upper GI (or lower) endoscopy training in your cases counts as CPD! You don’t even need an endoscope! We bring that with us and can guide you through the purchasing processes if you wish to invest.
For more details, click here or email info@msmvets.co.uk
Posted by Rhea Alton