New Esophagoscopy Clinic.

The majority of otolaryngologists at the present time do not include esophagoscopy as part of the service offered to their patients. During my residency at the Mayo Clinic, I made a special effort to obtain training in bronchoesophagology, which at the time was done by a special medical chest section. The esophagoscope utilized then was a very large, rigid tube that required great skill to use safely and to avoid perforation of the esophagus with resulting subcutaneous emphysema in the neck. During my training in the early 1960s, the inventor of the flexible gastroscope, a flexible tube one-half inch in diameter, demonstrated the new invention. Unfortunately, perforation of the esophagus occurred on a demonstration case. Nevertheless, introduction of the flexible fiberoptic scope resulted in the field of bronchoesophagology being performed by internal medicine specialists for the past 35 years.

This issue of the Ear, Nose & Throat Journal marks the beginning of a new Clinic on esophagoscopy directed by James A. Koufman, MD, of Wake Forest University and his colleagues Gregory N. Postma, MD, and P.C. Belafsky, MD. Using a new distal-chip video camera with a very thin flexible esophagoscope, manufactured by the Pentax Corporation, they have returned the field of esophagology to the otolaryngologist. As Dr. Koufman points out in his guest editorial, this new technology represents a wonderful opportunity for all otolaryngologists. Our work with gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) and swallowing disorders will be enhanced by use of this modality.

Symptoms of esophageal problems belong in the field of ENT. With this new Clinic, the Ear, Nose & Throat Journal hopes to aid in popularizing the use of these techniques by otolaryngologists in the future.

JACK L. PULEC, MD Editor-in-Chief EAR, NOSE & THROAT JOURNAL