double balloon endoscopy


double balloon endoscopy

Endoscopy to evaluate and treat sources of gastrointestinal bleeding within the small bowel. It allows visualization of successively deeper segments of the small bowel by catching the bowel wall with one balloon (located on an overtube that surrounds the endoscope) and then advancing the endoscope ahead of it. When the endoscope reaches a new section of bowel, a new balloon is inflated, fixing the bowel in place. The overtube balloon is deflated, and the overtube is advanced until its balloon is reinflated. The process is repeated until the scope has been successively moved through the entire small intestine, visualizing it fully. Synonym: push-and-pull endoscopySee also: endoscopy