Hydrostatic balloon catheters. A new dimension of therapeutic endoscopy.

Disorders secondary to strictures of various segments of the gastrointestinal tract, e.g. esophagus, stomach, bile ducts, pancreas and colon often produce symptoms requiring continuing medical management or aggressive intervention. Until now, surgery has been required for failures of medical treatment. Endoscopically placed balloon catheters offer an alternative method for effectively treating a variety of gastrointestinal strictures. In this report we present examples of applications of balloon catheters in clinical gastroenterology.