A gastroscopy, also known as an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy or just upper endoscopy, is usually done to investigate the cause of symptoms such as heartburn, abdominal pain, difficulty swallowing, vomiting or bleeding from the digestive tract, and to make or confirm a diagnosis.
Sometime be treated during gastroscopy such as:
polyps can be removed;
enlarged veins (varices) in the oesophagus (food pipe) can be treated to stop and prevent bleeding;
a narrowed oesophagus can be widened; and
foreign objects (such as objects accidently swallowed by children) can be removed.
2. Issues need to prepare for a gastroscopy:
Don’t eat or drink anything for at least 6 hours before a gastroscopy.
If you are taking any medicine, let’s check with your doctor if it is alright to continue.
You need to contact to doctor before to go to the hospital for some advice about what you do and don’t before a gastroscopy.
3. During a gastroscopy:
You can request to doctor given some pain-reliever medicine or the sedative for you sleeping during a gastroscopy.
A small mouthguard will be put between your teeth to stop you from biting the endoscope and to protect your teeth. If you have false teeth (dentures) they will need to be removed.
The endoscope will be placed into your mouth and you will be instructed to swallow it down into your stomach. The doctor will direct air into your stomach via the gastroscope. This will make viewing easier.
A special instrument can be inserted through the scope, and a small sample of tissue removed (a biopsy). This is not painful.
