New haemostatic techniques: argon plasma coagulation

Bleeding is one of the main challenges for endoscopists. Despite a large nu mber of methods for haemostasis, several types of haemorrhage lack an adequ ate therapeutic remedy. Argon plasma-coagulation (APC), a new method for th e non-contact application of high-frequency current, promises to solve many of these problems. Among 1164 patients treated in 2349 sessions using APC, the indication was bleeding (due to tumour, intervention, angiodysplasia o r coagulation disorders) in 305 patients (26%). The primary success rate wa s over 99%, the rebleeding rate 1.6% and the complication rate less than 1% , with zero mortality. Physical principles, indications, application parame ters and results are discussed, especially in comparison with the Nd:YAG la ser. APC is a new, efficacious, safe and easy-to-use method for the devital ization of tissue and haemostasis, especially in problematic cases.