Michel Kahaleh, MD, is the chief of gastroenterology at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J. Here, he describes how endoscopy centers should use advanced endoscopic procedures.
Note: Responses were edited for style and content.
Question: How can endoscopy centers use advanced endoscopic procedures?
Dr. Michel Kahaleh: To treat obesity and perform minimally invasive interventions [in] the same manner they use some laparoscopic procedures.
Q: What sort of barriers do centers need to overcome to implement such procedures?
MK: Presence of highly trained physicians and nurses, plus investment in new devices and accessories.
Q: Three years down the road, how will minimally invasive surgery advance in gastroenterology?
MK: We expect 30 percent of current surgical procedures such as weight loss surgery and some laparoscopic resection to shift to endoscopy since they are done in a safer, faster and more cost-effective fashion.
Q: What is a piece of advice you'd give to a center looking to implement more noninvasive procedures?
MK: Hire skilled endoscopists and nurses while investing in those novel technologies. This is happening at the demand of the patients and it would be sad to miss the train.