Endoscopy (UGI Endoscopy): Symptoms, Classification, Diagnosis & Recovery

• The physician advises you not to eat or drink anything for 6 hours before the test as the gastroscopy procedure is usually done on empty stomach.
• Consult the doctor if you are on some special medications 5 days before the procedure especially anticoagulants such as aspirin and heparin, as you may need to adjust the usual drug dosage or stop them until the test.
• Do not forget to discuss pervious allergic or medical conditions (if any) with the doctor.

Duration: 5 to 30 minutes

The doctor first sprays local anesthetic in your throat. You may also be given sedative through a fine tube called cannula in the arm region. At this stage, the nurse may provide extra oxygen because few sedatives affect your breathing.

The physician will instruct you to sleep on your left side with head bent slightly forward. Then the doctor places a guard between your teeth as it protects the teeth and the lips. The doctor will then pass the gastroscope through the mouth until it rests at the back of the throat. Then the doctor instructs you to swallow the tube into esophagus and down towards the stomach. The doctor inflates the stomach with air through the gastroscope to examine the lining of the stomach. The camera lens present at the end of the gastroscope will send images to the monitor that are used by the doctor to examine the lining of the esophagus, stomach, and duodenal region. If required, the doctor may take a small tissue sample using special instruments passed through the gastroscope. The samples collected will be sent for testing in the laboratory.

If necessary, the doctor may take a biopsy (small sample of tissue) or remove small growths of tissue called polyps using the instruments passed inside the gastroscope. The collected samples will be sent to a laboratory for testing.

Alternative applications

Other procedures that can be carried out through gastroscope are;

Stretching the narrowed areas of the esophagus, stomach

Treating the blood vessels or ulcers using injections or heat  

Aftercare and Recovery

• Take rest until the effects of the sedative are lowered.
• Don’t eat or drink anything until your throat gets cleared.
• Avoid hot drinks for few hours, car driving, operating machinery, and signing of legal documents for 24 hours.
• You may not require any pain tablets for recovery.

Limitations and Risks

You may have very rare complications as the specialized doctors perform the test. However, mild sore throat, and bleeding at the biopsy site is quite common.

Complications related to the sedatives used during the test such as tear in the gastrointestinal lining may also be seen.

Be alert in recognizing early signs of possible symptoms and meet your doctor immediately if there are aggravating symptoms such as chest or abdominal pain, difficulty in swallowing, blood in your feces etc.

Endoscopy cost and colonoscopy cost varies from hospital to hospital and also depends on the type of hospital that you decide to get treated in.