Educational content from recorded physician discussions — not medical advice. Talk to your (or your child's) care team about your situation.
Video
How effective is POEM in children?
Published Oct 2019
Podcast
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
Jeffrey Ponsky · 33 min · Published Jun 2016
Video
Ponsky and Gauderer invent the PEG tube
Jeffrey Ponsky · 7 min · Published Sep 2017
Podcast
Gastroesopheal Reflux Disease
33 min · Published Dec 2016
Video
Laparoscopic Heller Myotomy
3 min · Published Feb 2020
Video
SAGES/ALACE Symposium: Integrating New Technologies, Old Tricks, and Operative Approaches
Jeffrey Ponsky · 12 min · Published Mar 2012
Podcast
The invention of the PEG tube with Dr. Jeffrey Ponsky
Jeffrey Ponsky · 33 min · Published Jul 2026
Podcast
Update Course Rewind: Pediatric Biliary Stones - Preventing Gallstone Pancreatitis 2024
Jeffrey Ponsky · 3 min · Published Aug 2025
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ACS Icons in Surgery | Jeffrey L. Ponsky, MD, FACS
Jeffrey Ponsky · 20 min · Published Jul 2024
Video
SAGES Stories Episode 11 – Jeff Ponsky, MD
Jeffrey Ponsky · 61 min · Published Jun 2024
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From Idea to Ubiquity - the PEG Journey
Jeffrey Ponsky · Published Nov 2023
Podcast
Innovations in Surgery: PEG Tube
Jeffrey Ponsky · Published Aug 2023
What the experts said
Modern endoscopy began with Basil Hersowitz in the late 1950s when he integrated flexible fiber optic technology to produce endoscopic instruments which could go through the mouth or rectum to produce images.
Surgeons and gastroenterologists were involved in endoscopy from the very beginning.
Gastroenterologists such as Gene Oberholt and Jerry Way developed diagnostic applications of endoscopy.
Surgeons saw the therapeutic applications of endoscopy.
Hiromi Shia and Bill Wolf developed polypectomy by putting a metal wire around polyps and applying electricity to remove them.
Greg Stigman applied the principle of banding hemorrhoids in the rectum to esophageal varices.
Michael Godard and Jeff Ponsky applied surgical principles of percutaneous techniques to place feeding tubes using the endoscope to guide the procedure.
Nipsa Hendra, a surgeon in Germany, developed the first stenting of the bile duct.
Surgeons have been involved in the advances in endoscopy, particularly the therapeutic advances.
Bariatric and gastrointestinal surgeons today use endoscopy to look at their anastomoses and test them after surgery.
Surgeons use endoscopy to stent leaks or perform therapeutic stenting of strictures.
Endoscopy for surgeons today is a technique used to augment surgical procedures.
Not all surgeons perform ERCP.
Surgeons in bariatric surgery use endoscopy daily to assess surgical results, look for leaks, stent leaks, place drainage tubes, and improve treatment of complications.
Endoscopy is part of what surgeons do today.
Surgeons were the leaders in developing advanced endoscopic techniques because they asked what therapeutic procedures could be performed through the endoscope.
Endoscopic submucosal dissection can be used to remove T2 tumors and extensive spreading tumors of the colon without the need for surgery.
Emory Gorgon at the Cleveland Clinic has extensive experience in endoscopic submucosal dissection, including in the colon.
Pre-malignant and early malignant lesions in the esophagus can be removed endoscopically.
Division of esophageal muscles to treat achalasia can be performed endoscopically where surgery was previously required.
Endoscopic techniques augment surgery rather than replace it, allowing selection of the right procedure for the right patient.
The only place surgeons and gastroenterologists fail is when they fail to work together.
The gastroenterology community excels at endoscopic ultrasound, which has led to tremendous therapeutic advances.
The ultimate potential of endoscopic ultrasound will not be reached unless surgeons and gastroenterologists work together.
At the Cleveland Clinic, surgeons and gastroenterologists work together, combining surgical and endoscopic techniques.
Collaboration between surgeons and gastroenterologists augments the ability of endoscopy and extends the capacity of the specialty.
In 10 years, the field will not recognize what is being done today in endoscopy.
Transmural surgery will be possible in the future, including performing resections of pieces of bowel, removing tumors, and sewing up the lumen endoscopically.
Gastrointestinal anastomoses will be performed endoscopically or using combined endoscopic and percutaneous techniques in the future.
Surgical complications will be managed endoscopically in the future using ultrasound and endoscopy.
New modalities will be integrated into endoscopy to deal with biliary disease, colonic disease, pancreatic disease, gastric disease, and inflammatory bowel disease.
The robot refines surgical maneuvers and helps perform procedures better and more exactly.
Jeff Ponsky was initially a critic of robotics in laparoscopic surgery when it first began because it was expensive and he thought it unnecessary.
Robotics must be integrated into everything surgeons do.
Robotics will be used with flexible endoscopy just as it has been used with colorectal and intestinal surgery.
Endoscopy training became a requirement for surgical residents during Jeff Ponsky's tenure at the American Board of Surgery.