What is EMR? Anton Bilchik MD Explains

EMR stands for Endoscopic Mucosal Resection. Dr. Anton Bilchik may recommend an EMR to detect, evaluate, and remove cancerous tumors or other abnormal tissue, called lesions, from the digestive tract. EMR is an important tool in the identification and removal of potentially cancerous tissues from the gastrointestinal tract.

EMR does not require incisions. The surgeon passes a long, narrow tube down the patient’s throat to treat tumors in the organs of the upper gastrointestinal tract, including the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum at the upper part of the small intestine. He may pass the tube into the patient’s anus to reach lesions in the lowest part of the digestive tract, the colon, in cases of suspected colorectal cancer.

The physician outfits the tube with a video camera, light, and other instruments. These tools help Dr. Bilchik identify, evaluate, and remove lesions during the procedure. When he sees a lesion, he notes its location and injects a dye to help him identify the tumor’s borders. He may then remove the tumor by snaring it with a wire looped through the tube and dropping the tissue into an awaiting basket. The surgeon removes the suspicious tissue from the body when he pulls the EMR tube out.

He then sends the tissue to the medical laboratory for evaluation. Laboratory technicians should be able to tell the doctor if the tissue is malignant and expected to grow, or if the lesion is benign and should cause no problems. Laboratory testing should also establish “staging,” determining what stage a growth to be. A Stage 1 growth is small lesion localized to one part of the body, whereas a Stage 4 tumor is typically large and has spread to other tissue.

An EMR is a less invasive alternative to surgery for the removal of early stage cancers and precancerous lesions, which are tissues that may become cancer. Only specially trained gastroenterologists with proven expertise in cancer care should perform this procedure. Dr. Anton Bilchik is one of the nation’s leading gastroenterologists, and he uses EMR to help patients with cancer.