Mucosal endoscopic resections

Endoscopic mucosectomy is a newly developed endoscopic technique allowing t he resection of large fragments of digestive mucosa. The main indications o f this technique are the staging and/or the treatment of superficial lesion s of esophagus, stomach and colon. Resections by endoscopic mucosectomy rai se specific problems of macroscopic technique and histological analysis. Fo r correct inclusion, fragments must be pinned under a rigid support by the endoscopist. Their lateral margins must be sampled independently. The fragm ent must be included in totality. The histological report must indicate the depth of the resection and its quality, particularly the status of lateral and deep margins. The main difficulties of the histological analysis are d ue to the frequent occurrence of coagulation artefacts, which may hamper a correct interpretation of the lesions, particularly along the lateral margi ns. The appropriate management of endoscopic mucosal resections requires a good collaboration between endoscopists and pathologists.