ABSTRACT
In the past 30 years, endoscopy has established itself as an indispensable procedure in both the diagnosis and treatment of many pediatric conditions. In this respect, many accessory instruments have been designed to be used specifically in conjunction with the endoscope. These instruments can broadly be divided into those used for diagnostic procedures and those used for therapeutic purposes. The initial problems with the designs of many accessory instruments for the pediatric population have mainly been technical, namely, the production of miniature instruments small enough to fit inside the working channels of the pediatric endoscopes. These problems have now largely been overcome. Nonetheless, the maximum diameter of the instrument used in the pediatric upper gastrointestinal endoscope is only 2 mm, while the pediatric colonoscope can accommodate instruments of up to 2.8 mm. The relatively small size of these instruments limits their use to biopsy and small treatment areas.
