Endoluminal ultrasonic examination of sessile polyps and early carcinomas of the rectum.

The results of conventional endosonographic techniques in the assessment of early carcinomas and sessile polyps of the rectum have been unsatisfactory. We therefore developed a new technique in which the rectal cavity is filled directly with water. Using this technique, the anatomy of small rectal tumors is preserved and the layers of the rectal wall are easier to differentiate, especially with a 10-MHz scanner. The clinical results in 66 patients demonstrate that this new technique is very accurate in the preoperative staging of adenomas and T1-carcinomas of the rectum.