Device-assisted enteroscopy-based stricturotomy for small bowel strictures associated with Crohn’s disease(with video)

Introduction Bowel stricture is a common complication in patients with Crohn’s disease(CD),which often requires surgery[1,2].Notably,25%of patients develop at least one small bowel stricture[3].Endoscopic intervention has emerged as a feasible and minimally invasive adjunct or alternative to surgery.However,endoscopic intervention for small bowel strictures poses a technical challenge for gastroenterologists.Deep small bowel strictures beyond the terminal ileum are only accessible to device-assisted enteroscopy,including balloon-assisted enteroscopy(BAE).BAE-based endoscopic balloon dilation(EBD)has been reported to be safe and effective for small bowel strictures from CD[4].