Ahmet Serdar Karaca İD , M. Mahir Özmen İD , Ahmet Çınar Yastı İD , Seher Demirer İD On Behalf of the Initiative of the Board on Directors of the Turkish Surgical Society Endoscopy in surgery REVIEW Turk J Surg 2021; 37 (2): 83-86 Cite this article as: Karaca AS, Özmen MM, Yastı AÇ, Demir- er S. Endoscopy in surgery. Turk J Surg 2021; 37 (2): 83-86. Corresponding Author Ahmet Serdar Karaca E-mail: karacaahmetserdar@gmail.com Received: 08.03.2021 Accepted: 19.04.2021 Available Online Date: 30.06.2021 © Copyright 2021 by Turkish Surgical Society Available online at www.turkjsurg.com DOI: 10.47717/turkjsurg.2021.000000576 ABSTRACT In the last 20 years, there have been important developments in endoscopy. Initially, endoscopy was developed and used as a diagnostic tool. As new technology developed, these devices also became the basis for therapeutic maneuvers. In recent years, fexible endoscopes have been used to per- form procedures replacing traditional surgical approaches. Examples of this feld are transanal minimally invasive surgery, natural orifce transluminal endoscopic surgery, endoscopic metabolic surgery and third space endoscopies. Throughout history, surgeons have played a vital role in the design and development of endoscopic techniques, procedures, and equipment. Surgeons continue to lead the advancement of endoscopy, make important contributions, and serve as role models for innovation. Keywords: Endoscopy, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG), endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), endoscopic ultra- sound (EUS), Lumen-attaching metal stents (LAMS) INTRODUCTION The desire to examine the organs of the human body through natural holes is not new (1). The history of endoscopy goes back to the time when Hippocrates (460- 375 BC) described the use of a rectal speculum similar to those currently used. Sim- ilar instruments had been described in Roman medicine, including a three-bladed vaginal speculum found in the ruins of Pompeii. Albulassim (912) refected light with a mirror to see body cavities. Venezuelan Guilio Cesare Aranzi used the camera obscura [1587] to focus a beam of light to allow viewing the nasal cavity. Bozzini [1806] used the Lichtleiter, or light conductor, at the Medical Faculty in Vienna. Us- ing principles illustrated in Bozzini’s Lichtleiter, Segalas [1826] developed the spec- ulum urethro-cyst, which uses two small candles and a conical mirror to focus light on the bladder, allowing visual inspection. In 1853 Antonin J. Desormeaux adapted a kerosene lamp that burns alcohol and turpentine held in a chamber at the base of the handle to create a narrower beam of light, which is thought to provide a bright- er illumination of the area to be visualized. Desormeaux was the frst physician to use Lichtleiter in a patient and the frst physician to use the term Endoscopy, as well as endoscopic instruments for diagnosis and treatment (2). Kussmual performed the frst successful gastroscopy in 1886. Leiter developed an esophagoscope with a mignon lamp in 1881, and Chevalier Jackson, an otolaryngologist, frst used the bronchoesophagoscope to remove foreign bodies from humans in 1907. In 1937, Rudolf Schindler developed the semi-fexible endoscope, and in 1968 McCune, Shorb and Moscovitz described the frst successful endoscopic cannulation of the pancreas and bile ducts, creating the initiative for endoscopic retrograde cholan- giopancreatography (ERCP). Wolf and Shinya performed the frst colon polypecto- my using a fexible endoscope in 1974. Ponsky and Gauderer revolutionized the nutritional care of patients by describing percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) in 1980, and Steigmann and Gof described endoscopic varicose band liga- tion in 1988 (Table 1). In addition to the founding role played by many leading surgeons in establish- ing endoscopy as a diagnostic and therapeutic approach to patient care, surgical