CarolinaEast Medical Center’s Endoscopy staff, led by Dr. Maurits Wiersema, recently performed a procedure with the world’s first disposable duodenal ERCP fiber optic scope, EXALT. CarolinaEast was the first in North Carolina to use this cutting-edge new equipment that eliminates all risk of patient infection due to reprocessing of the typical reusable scope. Only 20 facilities nationwide and 30 worldwide are using the device, which was developed by Boston Scientific and is the first of its kind approved by the FDA.
This project has been in the planning stages for over a year and the Endo team at CarolinaEast is proud to bring it to fruition for the benefit of their patients. “The duodenal scope is used to treat a variety of disorders, a lot of them life threatening, such as pancreatic disorders, pancreatic cancer, tumors, cysts, common bile duct stones and common bile duct disorders,” explains Mitchell Moore, RN in CarolinaEast’s Endo Lab. “If the reusable duodenoscope isn’t cleaned properly, it can lead to cross-contamination between patients. We can now use it one time and throw it away and it saves the patient that risk of infection.”
By Brandy Popp, Manager, Public Relations and Outreach, CarolinaEast Health System