Bulletin Spring‧Summer 1999

New Treatments, Ne w Buildings, an dNew Programme s Bringing Endoscopic Therapy to Fruition What Is Endoscopic Therapy? What is endoscopic therapy? It is, as dean-elect and head of the Endoscopy Centre Prof. Sydney Chung puts it, 'the use of the endoscopic approach to perform treatment that in the past could only be achieved by open surgery.’ The endoscope can be inserted through natural orifices such as the mouth ， or throug h small openings created in other parts of the body. The difference between endoscopic therapy and traditional surgery is that a large incision to gain access to the inside of the human body is avoided. This is why endoscopic therapy is also called minimally invasive surgery: the result is much less pain , faster recovery, quicker retur n to work and a better cosmetic result. M i n i m a l l y invasive therapy, started in the last t wo decades, ma r k ed a ma j o r r e v o l u t i on i n ma n y branches of surgery. A CUHK Speciality I n endos cop ic t he r ap y, there is no big incision to allow the surgeon's hands to touch the p a t i e n t 's i n t e r n a l o r gans. Rather, the image of the internal organs i s transmitted by the endoscope and projected onto a television screen. Prof. Chung recounted: ' Endos copy i s a relatively new specialty whose development depended on advances in fibre-optics and electronics. In the 1980s the technology was advanced enough to produce instruments which allow clear observation of the insides of the intestines and allow us to make very accurate diagnoses. Our Faculty of Medicine was established in the early 80s. As a young and vigorous faculty, we had a very open academic climate and were not afraid to depart from tradition. We pioneered many techniques of using the endoscope to treat common diseases i n Hong Kong. Bleeding peptic ulcers, gall stones, stomach perforations are Prof. Sydney Chung Taking a look at the intestines using the endoscop e Chinese University Bulletin Spring, Summer 1999 20