Staged Retrograde Intraoperative Enteroscopy: Description of the 5-Step Surgical Technique for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Small Bowel Bleeding

Abstract

Background:

Small bowel bleeding (SB) comprises 5%–10% of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding cases. This article describes the staged retrograde intraoperative enteroscopy (SRIE) surgical technique for the etiological diagnosis and treatment of small bowel bleeding.

Methods:

SRIE was performed on patients with persistent SB at a quaternary university hospital in Brazil from 2020 to 2023. The technique is described in 5 steps, alongside visual aids, including images and a depicting a portion of the procedure. Patients presenting with confirmed coagulopathies, pregnancy, or unwillingness for surgery were excluded. Surgical procedures were performed after informed consent.

Case Series:

Four participants were submitted to SRIE, including 2 females (64 and 83 years old), and 2 males (46 and 57 years old). Three out of four (75%) of the patients received a confirmed diagnosis of GI bleeding, attributed to angioectasia, acquired von Willebrand disease, and vitamin K deficiency. SRIE was conducted via enterotomy, involving a subsequent insufflation-inspection-deflation of 10 to 10 cm segments of the small bowel (Steps 1 to 5). The procedure was successfully executed in all four patients without complications, allowing confirmation of the etiological diagnosis of SB or exclusion of anatomical causes of hemorrhage.

Conclusions:

SRIE is a valuable but invasive tool for assessing SB hemorrhage when conventional imaging falls short. When performed systematically and standardized, it allows accurate visualization of SB using a standard endoscope.