Bipolar-current needle-knife with a water jet function (Jet B-knife) shortens the procedure time of endoscopic submucosal dissection for colorectal tumors

Background Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is a technically difficult and time-consuming procedure for the treatment of large colorectal tumors. In Japan, the ball-tip bipolar-current needle-knife (BB-knife) has been used in ESD as a safe device that minimizes the damage to deeper tissues of colorectal neoplasms. In May 2012, a BB-knife combined with a water jet function (Jet B-knife) was newly developed. Methods This retrospective study was aimed at examining the effectiveness and safety of the Jet B-knife. The BB-knife was used in 276 lesions (BB-knife group), while the Jet B-knife was used in 245 lesions (Jet B-knife group). We evaluated tumor characteristics and the results of the ESD procedures, including the size of the resected tumor, histological diagnosis, time required for resection, frequency of using other electrical devices, en bloc resection rate, and incidence rate of associated complications. Then, the data obtained were compared between the two groups. Results The histological evaluation of the resected tumors revealed that the incidence of cancer was not significantly different between the two groups. The median time required for resection was 103 min (45–255) in the BB-knife group and 51 min (28–210) in the Jet B-knife group. The difference was statistically significant ( p