The "What's New" Page will be periodically updated to announce new services and procedures as they become available.

We strive to keep our endoscopy facilities equipped with state of the art technology. We are therefore pleased to announce the arrival of CONMED argon beam coagulation. The CONMED system better enables us to complete complicated endoscopic procedures. Read below for more details regarding this exciting new technology...

What is argon beam coagulation?
Argon beam coagulation (ABC) is not a "laser". This technology uses argon gas to deliver a beam of thermal energy to tissue (or mucosa) in the gastrointestinal tract. The argon beam is emitted from a probe that is inserted through the scope used during colonoscopy or upper endoscopy. A spark is delivered to the tip of the probe which ionizes the argon gas as it is sprayed from the probe tip.

The unique nature of this technology expands the range of conditions that we can effectively treat with an endoscope. For instance, a large polyp that is located behind a tissue fold in the colon would be very difficult to remove using standard endoscopic technique. The argon beam allows us to treat such a polyp that is out of the direct field of view (i.e., behind a fold). We also use ABC to more thoroughly remove large colon polyps that otherwise may have required surgery for complete removal. For instance, if a polyp is very broad based, the base of the lesion can be ablated with the argon beam after removing the bulk of the lesion with tradtitional snare technique.

We are also able to ablate bleeding lesions with ABC such as arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) and a rare condition called gastric antral vascular ectasia (also known as GAVE or watermelon stomach).

Additionally, ABC is useful in the treatment of radiation proctitis. Reports in the literature have demonstrated that ABC controls bleeding from radiation proctitis that persists despite medical therapy. References are included below if patients or referring physicians desire further information.

REFERENCES
Cohen, J, Abedi, M, Haber, G, et al. Argon plasma coagulation: A new effective technique at non-contact thermal coagulation. Experience in 44 cases of GI angiomata (abstract). Gastrointest Endosc 1996; 43:293.

Wahab, PJ, Mulder, CJ, den Hartog, G, Thies, JE. Argon plasma coagulation in flexible gastrointestinal endoscopy: Pilot experiences. Endoscopy 1997; 29:176.

Saurin, JC, Cohelo, J, Lepretre, J, et al. Argon plasma coagulation (APC) efficiently controls bleeding in patients with watermelon stomach or radiation proctitis (abstract). Gastrointest Endosc 1999; 49:AB169.

Fazel, A, Presti, ME, Saeed, ZA. Utility of the argon plasma coagulator: A university hospital experience (abstract). Gastrointest Endosc 1999; 49:AB123.

Vargo, JJ. Clinical applications of the argon plasma coagulator. Gastrointest Endosc 2004; 59:81.