Introduction
Technological progress, in communication as much as in imaging, is providing new ways of spreading medical information. This web site devoted to anorectal endosonography is one remarkable illustration of this.
The common but also the more rarely encountered anorectal diseases are presented in an informative way. Dr Vincent de Parades and Dr Isabelle Etienney, proctologists with skills in both endosonography and surgery, have taken the interpretation of 2D images to a remarkable level of reliability. The advent of 3D anorectal endosonography is opening up to them a new horizon which, I am quite sure, they will quickly explore so as to push back the limits of this “spatial” imaging and update the images on their site.
Within a few years, anorectal endosonography has become a major method of exploration in medico-surgical proctology; American and European publications bear witness to this. Paradoxically, in France, despite its operator-dependent character, teaching these skills is still patchy, erratic or even limited. It is to be hoped that this site, also available in French, will help remedy this shortcoming and encourage new interest in our rapidly expanding discipline.
With grateful thanks to the authors and designers.
Head of the Medico-Surgical Proctology Department
Diaconesses-Croix Saint Simon Hospital Group (Reuilly Site).
75012 PARIS
September 2005