title: Balloon-assisted enteroscopy with prophylactic polypectomy for Peutz-Jeghers syndrome: experience in Taiwan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) is a very rare disease that often causes severe complications such as bowel obstruction or gastrointestinal tract bleeding. In the past, it was usually treated by using surgical intervention despite the associated complications. Balloon-assisted enteroscopy (BAE) has been documented as an effective and safe method for the diagnosis and treatment of small bowel lesions. Hence, we conducted this study to verify whether BAE is useful for patients with PJS.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the safety and efficacy of BAE with prophylactic polypectomy in patients with PJS.
  
  
  METHODS
  From August 2005 to February 2010, 6 consecutive patients were diagnosed with PJS after pathological and clinical examination, and underwent BAE examination and polypectomy at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, an academic tertiary referral center.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six consecutive patients (4 men and 2 women) diagnosed with PJS underwent BAE with polypectomy. BAE was performed 17 times for complete examination of the entire small bowel. The range of the diameter of the removed polyps was 1-6 cm. No immediate complications such as hemorrhage or hollow organ perforation were noted during the procedure, and no patient developed intussusception during the follow-up period (32 ± 17.5 months).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  BAE with polypectomy is useful for patients with PJS in order to reduce the complications of the condition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, No.5, Fu-Hsin St., Kwei-Shan, Taoyuan, 333, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tsung-Hsing
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Wei-Pin
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Ming-Yao
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Chen-Ming
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: Cheng-Tang
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.forename: Pang-Chi
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Man-Shan
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.forename: Ming-Wei
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Ta-Sen
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Yeh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D058582:Double-Balloon Enteroscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007417:Intestinal Polyps / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D010580:Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome / Q000601:surgery*; D055815:Young Adult