A new Advanced Endoscopy Service has been rolled out in the Ulster Hospital allowing patients to be treated as a day case patient, instead of being admitted to hospital to undergo a surgical procedure.
The Ulster Hospital is the only facility in Northern Ireland to provide this service.
Advanced Endoscopy resectional techniques offer endoscopic day-case procedures for patients with complex colorectal lesions and early colorectal cancers, avoiding the need for surgery and a hospital stay.
In 2019-2021, 264 patients were treated for Colorectal Cancer in the South Eastern Trust. A proportion of these patients will have had a suspected polyp cancer or an early colorectal cancer diagnosis.
Traditionally, complex polyps would frequently result in formal surgical resection which involves a general anaesthetic and an average post-operative stay of four – five days.
Colorectal cancer is the third most common type of cancer and the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide.
Commenting on the introduction of the advanced service, Director of Surgery, Maggie Parks explained, “This is a wonderful service development for patients, as they can be treated safely and effectively as a day case and no longer require an inpatient surgical admission. This also has added benefits for the Trust, allowing for a more efficient service and saving on bed days.
“The South Eastern Trust is the only hospital in Northern Ireland regularly performing this advanced endoscopy resection procedure and its results are on par with world-leading centres.”