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Intraoperative gastrointestinal endoscopy has become an increasingly valuable diagnostic and therapeutic adjunct in the management of a variety of complicated problems in surgical patients. At the Medical College of Georgia, intraoperative gastrointestinal endoscopic technics have been successfully used to locate the site and cause of occult gastrointestinal bleeding; to diagnose, biopsy, and, when appropriate, resect lesions during operations conducted for other pathologic processes; to gain endoscopic access for resection of lesions otherwise inaccessible (endoscopically) by virtue of intestinal distortion caused by adhesions; to guide the operating surgeon to an area of resectable disease through dense adhesions secondary to multiple previous laparotomies; and to enhance diagnosis at laparotomy. The value of intraoperative gastrointestinal endoscopy in lesions resulting in occult gastrointestinal hemorrhage and the value of combined radiographic and intraoperative endoscopic technics in diagnosing and managing occult GI bleeding are discussed.

Twenty-five per cent of the authors' total upper endoscopy experience since 1974 has been in patients who have had upper gastrointestinal tract surgery. The observations from 617 examinations in 400 of these patients is reviewed. Pain or nausea and vomiting was a common presenting symptom. Multiple complaints were frequent. Gastritis was the most common endoscopic finding present in 127 patients (32%). Biopsy yielded an 89% histologic confirmation of the endoscopic perception. Coexisting mucosal pathology was common, with 39% of the patients having two or more abnormalities. X-ray in 190 patients had only a 30% accuracy rate and a frequent occurrence of false negatives (46%). Bezoars and intraluminal sutures were seen commonly and endoscopy provided a therapeutic choice for enzyme injection of the bezoar and removal of the sutures. Endoscopy provided a method of evaluation of our highly selective vagotomy technique; 96% of our patients with ulceration at the time of surgery were healed by endoscopy and 93% had active antral-pyloric function.