Everything You Wanted to Know About a Gastroscopy

Do you suffer from heartburn, acid reflux, abdominal pain or difficulty swallowing? These are some of the reasons why your physician may recommend a gastroscopy.

Esophogastroduodenoscopy (“EE-SOFF-OH-GAS-TRO-DOO-ODD-DEN-OS-SCOPE-EE”) is the very medical-sounding name for this procedure. It can also be referred to as an EGD or more commonly as a Gastroscopy. The physician will advance an endoscope (a thin, flexible tube with a light and camera on the end of it) through your mouth, down your esophagus, into your stomach and then into the top part of your small intestine known as the duodenum. Sounds pretty horrible, doesn’t it? Trust me, it sounds a lot worse than it actually is! I usually tell people that the worst part of the exam is walking past Timothy’s in our lobby that morning and not going in for a cup of coffee. Let me explain a few things about this test and hopefully that will put your mind at ease.

Everybody gags when something is put to the back of your throat. Gagging is good. It means you are alive. It is, however, uncomfortable for you. We will “numb” the back of your throat with some topical Xylocaine spray (like at the dentist). We will also instruct you to focus on taking slow, deep breaths. Your airway is not compromised during this test. By taking slow, deep breaths you will actually diminish the gag reflex.
The only “prep” involved with this test is to not eat or drink anything after midnight before your procedure. Since our appointments are always in the morning, this is not difficult to do.
The scope is about the size of your pinky finger. The scope is similar to what we would use for a colonoscopy but it is narrower and shorter. The scope is inside you for about 4 minutes.
We will provide you with sedation. The sedation is similar to what you would receive for a colonoscopy and it is referred to as “conscious sedation”. Our goal is not to put you to sleep but rather to keep you comfortable. About 50% of our patients will complete this test without sedation because the test is so fast and it is not painful.
We will take tissue specimens (biopsies) during this test. This is to evaluate for microscopic findings that cannot be seen on the monitor during the procedure. Biopsies do not hurt. It typically takes about 10 business days to get the results of the biopsies but your physician will be able to tell you what he found, if anything, before you go home that day.
We will put air into your stomach during the exam. This is because your stomach is normally ‘clamped down’ and by putting air in it opens up so that the physician can get a good view of the entire stomach. Most of this air will be sucked out before the end of the test but some air may linger. This will cause you to belch or possibly pass gas as the air works its way out of you.
There are no restrictions to your diet after this exam and you may resume your regular activities. If you received sedation for the exam you will not be allowed to drink alcohol or drive a car for 12 hours following the procedure and you will be advised to avoid making big decisions for the day as the sedation can cause you to be drowsy & forgetful.

On the day of the procedure you will have the opportunity to speak with the physician and review any symptoms you have been experiencing. The procedure itself only takes about 5 or 10 minutes and afterwards the physician will speak with you again to review the findings of the exam. You will receive a results letter about 10 days later that will advise you of the results of the biopsies and will provide you with any recommendations the physician may have based on those results.

If you have any questions about this procedure please do not hesitate to contact us.