BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: A randomized in vivo animal study previously demonstrated that topical injection of mesna solution (sodium-2-mercaptoethanesulfonate) chemically softened submucosal connective tissues and facilitated mechanical dissection of the submucosal tissue plane. The present study evaluated the technical feasibility and safety of chemically assisted endoscopic submucosal dissection (CA-ESD) using mesna in 20 consecutive patients who underwent endoscopic excision of gastric neoplasm. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Following the margination of the lesion with a mucosal circumcision, 4 - 12 mL of 10 % mesna solution was injected into the submucosal layer. Mechanical submucosal dissection was then performed by bluntly cleaving the chemically treated submucosal layer with the tip of a cap-fitted gastroscope. The use of cautery was restricted to prophylactic hemostasis, dissection of the coagulated vessels and persistent submucosal tissues, and the final snare resection. Post-therapeutic ulceration repair and adverse events were followed up during a 1-week hospitalization and by repeat endoscopies at 1 day, 1 week, and 1 month after the procedure. RESULTS: Sixteen gastric cancers and four adenomas were treated in this study. The sampled tissue measured 38.25 +/- 14.53 mm, with an en bloc resection rate of 100 %. Mean operation time was 21.17 +/- 11.6 minutes. The time spent using cautery was limited to 26.1 % of the total submucosal dissection time. Ulcerations healed normally without complications. CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary study demonstrates that submucosal injection of mesna facilitates and expedites mechanical submucosal dissection. The major limitations in this study include the single-arm study design and a small patient population. (c) Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart . New York.
BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: A randomized in vivo animal study previously demonstrated that topical injection of mesna solution (sodium-2-mercaptoethanesulfonate) chemically softened submucosal connective tissues and facilitated mechanical dissection of the submucosal tissue plane. The present study evaluated the technical feasibility and safety of chemically assisted endoscopic submucosal dissection (CA-ESD) using mesna in 20 consecutive patients who underwent endoscopic excision of gastric neoplasm. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Following the margination of the lesion with a mucosal circumcision, 4 - 12 mL of 10 % mesna solution was injected into the submucosal layer. Mechanical submucosal dissection was then performed by bluntly cleaving the chemically treated submucosal layer with the tip of a cap-fitted gastroscope. The use of cautery was restricted to prophylactic hemostasis, dissection of the coagulated vessels and persistent submucosal tissues, and the final snare resection. Post-therapeutic ulceration repair and adverse events were followed up during a 1-week hospitalization and by repeat endoscopies at 1 day, 1 week, and 1 month after the procedure. RESULTS: Sixteen gastric cancers and four adenomas were treated in this study. The sampled tissue measured 38.25 +/- 14.53 mm, with an en bloc resection rate of 100 %. Mean operation time was 21.17 +/- 11.6 minutes. The time spent using cautery was limited to 26.1 % of the total submucosal dissection time. Ulcerations healed normally without complications. CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary study demonstrates that submucosal injection of mesna facilitates and expedites mechanical submucosal dissection. The major limitations in this study include the single-arm study design and a small patient population. (c) Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart . New York.