An Electrosurgical Endoknife with a Water-Jet Function (Flushknife) Proves Its Merits in Colorectal Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection Especially for the Cases Which Should Be Removed En Bloc

Background. Previously, we reported that the Flushknife (electrosurgical endoknife with a water-jet function) could reduce the operation time of colorectal endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) however, suitable situation for the Flushknife was obscure. This subgroup analysis of a prospective randomized controlled trial was aimed to investigate the suitable situation for the Flushknife. Methods. A total of 48 superficial colorectal neoplasms that underwent ESD using either the Flexknife or the Flushknife in a referral center were enrolled. The differences of operation time between the Flexknife and the Flushknife groups in each subgroup (tumor size, location, and macroscopic type) were analyzed. Results. Median (95% CI) operation time calculated using survival curves was significantly shorter in the Flushknife group than in the Flexknife group (55.5 min [41, 78] versus 74.0 [57, 90] min; P = 0.039, Hazard Ratio HR: 0.53; 95% CI (0.29-0.97)). In particular, the HR in patients with laterally spreading tumors-nongranular type (LST-NG) in the Flushknife group was significantly smaller than in the Flexknife group (HR: 0.165→0.17; 95% CI (0.04-0.66)). There was a trend of decreasing HRs according to larger lesion size. Conclusions. The Flushknife proved its merits in colorectal ESD especially for the lesions which should be removed en bloc (LST-NG and large lesion).