Patient Stories

Name: Angela

History: 28 year old woman recently diagnosed with cryptogenic hepatitis and cirrhosis. Angela was at risk for esophageal varices or other evidence of portal hypertension.

Pre-PillCam Diagnostic Procedures: Liver function tests, several serologic tests and a liver biopsy

PillCam Capsule Utilized: PillCam ESO

PillCam-Assisted Diagnosis: A normal examination – no evidence of esophageal varices

Treatment: Proceed with treatment of the hepatitis and cirrhosis without concern for a life-threatening variceal hemorrhage

Follow-ups: Though there is currently no consensus guidance on the frequency of monitoring someone for the development of esophageal varices, it would be reasonable to consider a PillCam ESO study every two to three years to check for varices.

Name: Majiburrahman

History: Findings from a previous colonoscopy three years ago included two polyps.

Pre-PillCam Diagnostic Procedures: Previous colonoscopy

PillCam Capsule Utilized: PillCam SB

PillCam-Assisted Diagnosis: Physician diagnosed diverticular disease, or a bulge in the colon, and one polyp measuring less than 6mm in the right side of the colon

Treatment: Colonoscopy with polypectomy

Follow-ups: Results indicated the polyp as adenoma, a benign growth that can lead to colorectal cancer. Suggest repeating the PillCam SB procedure in three years.

Name: Yong-Joon Kim

History: General weakness, diagnosed with Iron Deficiency Anemia

Pre-PillCam Diagnostic Procedures: Gastroscopy, colonoscopy, Meckel’s scan, small bowel enteroclysis, abdominal CT, Red Blood Cell (RBC) Scan

PillCam Capsule Utilized: PillCam SB

PillCam-Assisted Diagnosis: The physician diagnosed a small bowel tumor at mid ileum

Treatment: Surgeon removed tumor, which was later diagnosed as an abnormal build up of blood vessels known as a hemangioma, or a visible red skin lesion

Follow-ups: Following the surgery, the patient followed up with his physician every three months for the next year and made annual visits thereafter. There has been no evidence of GI bleeding or anemia since the surgery..

Name: LeGrand

History: Chronic gastrointestinal bleeding, transfusion-dependent anemia and multiple hospitalizations

Pre-PillCam Diagnostic Procedures: Numerous upper endoscopies and colonoscopies

PillCam Capsule Utilized: PillCam SB

PillCam-Assisted Diagnosis: Multiple superficial blood vessels seen to be a source of bleeding in the small intestine

Treatment: Enteroscopy with vessel cauterization

Follow-ups: Life-threatening bleeding occurred 1 year post-procedure. Second PillCam procedure showed additional superficial blood vessels in the distal small intestine / cecum. In the year following the surgical treatment of these vessels, hemoglobin levels have remained stable and there have been no hospitalizations.

Name: Teresa

History: Severe abdominal pain for many years, nausea and vomiting.

Pre-PillCam Diagnostic Procedures: Diagnostic tests, hospitalizations and monthly emergency room visits, diagnostic surgery, appendectomy and hernia repair

PillCam Capsule Utilized: PillCam SB

PillCam-Assisted Diagnosis: The test concluded that she had a hanging tumor attached to the lining of her small bowel.

Treatment: Surgery to remove the tumor

Follow-ups: Within two months, her abdominal pain was completely gone.

Name: Melissa

History: Melissa was initially diagnosed and treated for known Crohn’s disease but after several months she started to experience significant abdominal pain and weight loss among other symptoms.

Pre-PillCam Diagnostic Procedures: Underwent numerous procedures over a 20-month period all of which came up negative.

PillCam Capsule Utilized: PillCam SB

PillCam-Assisted Diagnosis: Recurrent small bowel Crohn’s disease

Treatment: Prescription for the right kind of treatment

Follow-ups: Melissa’s quality of life has improved significantly since her experience with PillCam

Name: Frank

History: Frank suffered from severe fatigue and obscure bleeding for more than 2 years.

Pre-PillCam Diagnostic Procedures: He received 5 upper endoscopies and 5 colonoscopies but all were inconclusive. As a result he underwent blood transfusions every few months.

PillCam Capsule Utilized: PillCam SB

PillCam-Assisted Diagnosis: Ultimately diagnosed an ulcer as the source of bleeding