ConMed Beamer Study

Submucosal endoscopy is a novel subset of procedures which enables endoscopist to utilize the submucosal space to perform advanced endoscopic procedures. The submucosa is the third layer of the gastrointestinal wall and it is a potential space which is expandable upon injecting the submucosa with fluid. The expanded submucosa causes a significant lift which enable dissection of the submucosal space with the removal of the overlying polyp or early cancer. The submucosal space can be also utilized to create a longitudinal submucosal tunnel in the esophagus or the stomach wall which allows for performing lower esophageal sphincter or pyloric myotomy for the treatment of achalasia or Gastroparesis.

Currently, the most commonly performed submucosal endoscopy procedures are endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for removal of early cancers or polyps throughout the gastrointestinal tract, Per-oral Endoscopic Myotomy (POEM) for treatment of achalasia, or Gastric Per-Oral Endoscopic myotomy for the treatment of Gastroparesis. All of the above procedures require a specialized electrosurgical unit (ESU) which generate high frequency current to help incision (cutting) of the mucosa and dissection (coagulation) of the submucosa. The ConMed Beamer is a novel ESU with tissue sensing property which expedites the process of submucosal dissection. The device is currently approved for clinical use in the US. The purpose of this study is to create registry for all submucosal endoscopy procedures performed using ConMed Beamer device at BSLMC with focus on clinical outcomes of the procedure including adverse events.