Endoscopic full-thickness biopsy of the gastrointestinal wall: a new device tested in a long-term animal survival study

Introduction: Full thickness biopsy (FTB) of the gut is necessary for the diagnosis of enteric neuromuscular diseases (ENMD). To date FTB is only done by surgery. Endoscopic biopsy methods would enable easier diagnosis of ENMD and facilitate research of other diseases. Aims: To test the ability of a novel prototype FTB-device, to obtain ≈1cm in diameter full-thickness gut tissue to provide appropriate histology for the diagnosis of ENMD; 2) To determine whether the FTB-device would damage adjacent tissue in the peritoneal cavity and whether endoscopic closure of the defect with t-tags is sufficient. Methods: In…