Things you need to know about an upper intestinal endoscopy

General Information

During this procedure  a doctor will look at the interior part of your esophagus, the first part of your small interested and your stomach lining.

In general, endoscopies are performed due to symptoms such nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, difficulty swallowing, and gastrointestinal bleeding.  But upper intestinal endoscopies are performed to find problems with upper intestinal tract such as Ulcers, Cancer, and inflammation of the stomach or the esophagusThe term endoscopy refers to a procedure looking inside the body with an endoscope.

To prepare for this procedure do not eat 6 to 8 hours before the test. This will allow the doctor to see your stomach clearly. It will also decrease your chances of vomiting.

You should also stop taking aspirin 7-14 days before the procedure. This will prevent your blood from being excessively thin. This will reduce the risk of excessive bleeding.

Why get an endoscopy?

This procedure is used to diagnose the conditions of internal organs and other body structures. Some abnormalities that this procedure reveals are: abscesses, biliary, cirrhosis, bleeding, bronchitis, cancer, cysts, degenerative disease, gall bladder stones, hernia, inflammation metastatic cancer, polyps, tumors, ulcers, among other conditions.  An endoscopy is also a minimally invasive procedure. There are risks involved, but these risks are outweighed by the value of the procedure.

Because it is a minimally invasive procedure it does not require hospitalization. To perform an endoscopy an endoscope is inserted in through the throat in order to examine the bodies internal organs.