Gastroenterology Pearland, Houston, Bay City, Lake Jackson
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Your GI Center offers capsule endoscopy, an innovative non-invasive procedure for examining the small intestine, at our Houston, Bay City, and Lake Jackson locations. Capsule endoscopy uses a tiny wireless camera contained in a pill-sized capsule that you swallow. As the capsule travels through your digestive tract, it captures thousands of images that are transmitted to a recorder worn on your belt. This technology allows our gastroenterologists to visualize the entire length of the small intestine, an area that cannot be reached by traditional endoscopy or colonoscopy.
Capsule endoscopy is particularly valuable for investigating unexplained gastrointestinal bleeding, suspected Crohn’s disease, small bowel tumors, and other conditions affecting the small intestine. The procedure is completely non-invasive and painless, requiring no sedation. Patients can go about their normal daily activities while the capsule travels through their digestive system.
Info
Capsule endoscopy, also called wireless capsule endoscopy or video capsule endoscopy, uses a disposable capsule approximately the size of a large vitamin pill. The capsule contains a tiny camera, light source, battery, and wireless transmitter. After you swallow the capsule with water, it travels through your digestive tract by natural peristalsis (the normal muscular contractions that move food through your intestines).
As the capsule moves through your esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and colon, the camera captures two to six images per second, totaling approximately 50,000 to 60,000 images during its eight-hour battery life. These images are wirelessly transmitted to a data recorder that you wear on a belt around your waist. The recorder stores all the images for later review by your gastroenterologist.
After approximately eight hours, the capsule’s battery is exhausted and it stops transmitting images. The capsule is disposable and passes naturally in your stool, usually within twenty-four to seventy-two hours. You do not need to retrieve the capsule. The entire small intestine, which is approximately twenty feet long and cannot be fully examined by traditional endoscopy, is visualized during capsule endoscopy.
Your gastroenterologist may recommend capsule endoscopy for several indications.
Suspected Crohn’s Disease: If you have symptoms suggestive of Crohn’s disease but colonoscopy and upper endoscopy are normal, capsule endoscopy can detect inflammation, ulcers, or strictures in the small intestine that confirm the diagnosis.
Capsule endoscopy is a simple outpatient procedure. You will need to fast (not eat or drink) for at least twelve hours before swallowing the capsule to ensure clear visualization of the small intestine. Your gastroenterologist may prescribe a bowel preparation solution to clean the small intestine, similar to colonoscopy preparation but less extensive.
On the day of your capsule endoscopy, you will come to our Houston, Bay City, or Lake Jackson office. Sensor patches will be placed on your abdomen and connected to the data recorder, which you will wear on a belt. You will then swallow the capsule with water. The capsule is smooth and easy to swallow for most patients.
After swallowing the capsule, you can leave our office and go about your normal daily activities. You should avoid strenuous physical activity and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) while wearing the recorder. You will be instructed when you can resume drinking clear liquids (typically after two hours) and eating light meals (typically after four hours).
After approximately eight hours, you will return to our office to have the recorder and sensor patches removed. Your gastroenterologist will download the images from the recorder and review them, which may take several days due to the large number of images captured. You will be contacted with the results and any recommendations for further evaluation or treatment.
The capsule will pass naturally in your stool. You do not need to retrieve it. In rare cases, the capsule may become stuck in a narrowed area of the small intestine (capsule retention). If this occurs, the capsule may need to be removed endoscopically or surgically, or it may pass on its own over time.
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