RESUMO
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Nowadays ultrasonic endoscopy is accepted as the most accurate method in the preoperative TNM staging of oesophageal tumour. At the time a diagnosis of oesophageal is made, 25-62% of patients have marked oesophageal stricture due to an advanced stage of the tumour. As a result, it is often impossible to pass a conventional endoscope and the examination is incomplete or a dilator has to be introduced at high risk of perforation or other complications. An ultrasonic oesophagoprobe (Olympus MH 908) with a diameter of 7.9 mm, its tip acting as a dilator has been developed so that even in high-grade oesophageal stricture a complete and low-risk investigation can be undertaken. The value of this instrument has been compared prospectively with that of a standard ultrasonic endoscope in patients with oesophageal stricture due to carcinoma and in relation to the postoperative histology. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between May 1996 and February 1997, 62 patients (55 men, 7 women; average age 55.8 [41-82] years) with suspected or histologically confirmed oesophageal carcinoma were examined with the standard ultrasonic endoscope and the new oesophagoprobe. The two independent results were related to the postoperative histology. RESULTS: It was possible to compare the endoscopic results with the postoperative histology in 47 patients. In 55.8% it was not possible to pass the stricture with the standard ultrasonic endoscope (SE) so that an accuracy of only 41% was obtained in the T stage and 56.4% in the N stage. But with the oesophagoprobe (OP) an accuracy of 74.5% in the T stage and of 63% in the N stage were achieved. The difference in the findings between the two instruments was highly significant (p < 0.001) in those patients in whom the SE could not be passed through the stricture. For the T stage the accuracy was 14.3% vs. 76.2% (SE vs. OP); in the N stage it was 38.1% and 57.2%, respectively. When both instruments could be passed the results were comparable. CONCLUSIONS: Examination with the ultrasonic oesophagoprobe is a reliable and accurate method free of complications for the preoperative assessment of oesophageal carcinoma with stricture.
