What is endoscopic injection needle?

Author : chen juan | Published On : 13 Jan 2025

An endoscopic injection needle is a type of medical device available for use during an endoscopy that would allow the delivery of liquid, powder or air into tissues. This is a technique that can be used within gastroenterology and outside of medicine to other subspecialties such as urology, pulmonology or even dermatology.

Purpose and Applications

An endoscopic injection needle is mainly used for targeted therapy in various medical conditions. Most commonly it can find applications in:

A fluid containing drugs (sometimes used to shrink or destroy tumors) can be injected in through a needle. A related question is how best to exploit the capacity of polymers or hydrogels to deliver drugs locally into a tumor, bypassing systemic delivery (e.g., alcohol injected directly into tumors42; chemotherapeutic agents delivered via polymeric inserts placed within resected cavities161).

 

Sclerotherapy – for things like varices or specific vascular malformations, sclerosing agents can be injected leading to fibrotic changes in the vessel walls and causing them to close up so that there is not more risk from bleeding.

Solids (filling agents) -Fillers can be injected in some cases ie to restore 3-dimensional tissue loss after surgery reconstruction or for enhancement of normal tissues, as seen by chronic ulcers and certain lesions.

This includes a needle that can be used to remove tissue samples from areas of concern as part of the diagnosis process when cancer is suspected (biopsy).

Design and Features of Endoscopic Injection Needle

Endoscopic injection needles are available in different types as per the specific indications. Key features include:

Needles are also sold in different gauges (thickness of the needle) coarse needles for larger tissue injections and fine gauge ones used with more delicate procedures such as dentistry.

Length: the length of the needle may vary according to tissue target depth and anatomical considerations.

Injection Mechanism:It is a very good feature in which you can control the amount and both pressure with that it minimizes the tissue damage also.

This catheter have visibility as many needles are designed for being seen via ultrasound or fluoroscopy (or both) to facilitate accurate placement.

Procedure

An endoscopic injection needle is typically then used as follows:

Pre-procedure – This involves getting your patient ready for the procedure; this could mean putting on fasting or altering medications.

Sedation: Sedatives are given as needed based on the difficulty of the procedure to keep patients comfortable.

They allows a physician to view the target area (like an endoscope)

Injection: The needle is slowly advanced to the required position while directly visualized, and thenthe material of choice is injected.

Post-procedure care: After the injection, and with no immediate untoward effects of pain relief is noted, patients are provided follow-up information.

Safety and Risks

Although endoscopic injection techniques are generally safe, these methods have associated risks.

Infection: Like any other invasive procedure, the Injection can introduce infection.

Tissues injury at the time of an injection may cause bleeding, which can be a subject to additional specific procedures.

Such a surgery comes with the risk of an organ perforation, particularly in complex anatomical sites.

Allergic Response — Some patients may experience an allergic reaction to the injected substance.