Endoscopy: Gastroscopy, Colonoscopy

These are commonly done procedures to examine the inside of the upper and lower gastro intestinal tracts. Upper endoscopy (gastroscopy) is done to evaluate for pain, swallowing difficulties, heartburn, nausea, vomiting, and for other conditions including cancer.

These procedures are done at Grants Pass Surgical Center or Three Rivers Community Hospital. You will be given sedation, so you must have an empty stomach and someone to drive you home. Do not eat or drink anything after midnight before the procedure. If you ordinarily take medication in the morning, wait until after the procedure.

What To Expect
You will get an IV for sleep inducing medication and then hooked up to monitors so a nurse can watch your blood pressure and pulse during the procedure. You will start out on your side, but may be rolled from one side to the other.

We then pump air into your gastro intestinal tract for both of these procedures, so you may experience bloating and excess gas. Sometimes we may move your gastro intestinal tract around so that we can see and evaluate everything. For this reason, you may feel discomfort for a short while after the procedure.

We may biopsy or remove things we see in your stomach or colon. For this reason, there may be a little blood in your stool. A little is normal. However, if there is a lot of blood, or if it persists, call your doctor. Also there is a small possibility of perforation with either upper or lower endoscopy. You would notice this by excess pain and/or abdominal distention. If this occurs, please contact your doctor. Although unlikely, you might require an operation to correct a perforation.

Appointment
You may need a follow up appointment to discuss the findings. It is often done two weeks after the procedure to ensure that we have biopsy results back. You may be asked to call for the appointment.