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Diagnosing with Capsule Endoscopy

By: Gretchen Bolander
Updated: September 20, 2012
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JOPLIN, MO-- It's a tiny, tiny camera that can make a big impact on your health. A capsule endoscopy can help diagnose a wide range of issues.

"A capsule endoscopy is that has a vitamin sized camera within and travels through your small intestine and takes millions of pictures that are that are correlated and put together through a recording device that you hold around your belt." And Freeman Gastroenterologist Charbel Maksoud says that patient ends up with their own movie highlighting their intestinal health. It could spotlight bleeding, Crohn's Disease or more. "In the image we're basically looking for any abnormality of the lining of the small intestines. A polyp or tumor will show itself once we see it. Sometimes we look for ulcers to account for pain."

The procedure itself takes a few hours - and has a few rules patients must follow. It starts with swallowing a vitamin sized capsule and wearing a small recording device around your waist. Added Maksoud, "And we leave them without any drinks or food for two hours and then they are holding the belt that is at the waistline and it is recording the 8 hours of images that are transmitted from the capsule traveling through the small intestines into the recorded device."

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