WGO Divisions - Endoscopy & Diagnostics
Since the advent of the flexible endoscope, endoscopy has assumed a central role in the diagnosis and, more recently, management of gastrointestinal disorders. Be it the use of colonoscopy in screening for colon cancer in Europe or North America or the role of trans-endoscopic sclerotherapy in the management of hemorrhage from esophageal varices resulting from schistosomiasis in the Nile valley, endoscopy is now critical to the successful practice of gastroenterology throughout the world. Needless to say, the range of endoscopic priorities will vary from region to region; the diagnosis and management of early gastric cancer assuming considerable importance in Asia and parts of Latin America while therapeutic ERCP is critical to the management of the various manifestations of biliary disease that are so common in the Andes. Technical advances continue to “push the envelope” in both diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy and provide the gastroenterologist/endoscopist with several alternatives for the ever more accurate definition of gastrointestinal disorders and for less invasive, but no less effective, therapeutic options. WGO views digestive endoscopy as pivotal and absolutely integral to the practice of modern endoscopy and, while we recognise the economic factors that limit its availability in certain parts of the world, we are committed to promoting the integration of endoscopy into gastroenterological practice throughout the world and to ensuring, through our educational programs, the highest standards in the performance and interpretation of endoscopy.
Progress in the application of diagnostic imaging to digestive disorders has been no less dramatic, with ultrasound, computerised tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography assuming a fundamental role in the diagnosis and management of gastrointestinal cancer and pancreatic and liver disease, in particular. In many parts of the world, ultrasonography is a basic diagnostic tool employed by the gastroenterologist and offers a relatively inexpensive, portable and highly accurate methodology for the assessment of many intra-abdominal conditions. Regardless of whether or not the gastroenterologist employs these methodologies in his or her individual practice, an understanding of the diagnostic potential of these imaging methods is essential for the modern gastroenterologist and must be an essential component of any educational or training program.
