Painless Gastroscopy
The examination is performed in patients with symptoms of discomfort or pain in the upper abdomen, nausea, vomiting, heartburn or with difficulties in swallowing. The method is very reliable in detecting the causes of bleeding, inflammation, ulcer, or esophagus, stomach and duodenal tumors.
HOW IS GASTROSCOPY PERFORMED?
The examination is performed with an instrument called the gastroscope. Gastroscope is a device with a flexible and slim extension that has a small optical instrument that displays the inside of the body on the external screen.
During gastroscopy the patient is lying on the left side. The gastroscope is slowly and carefully inserted through the mouth into the esophagus, the stomach and the duodenum. This is the physiological path of food through the digestive tract, and during the inspection, which rarely lasts for more than five minutes, patient can breathe normally.
In endoscopy, it is possible to do a painless biopsy (a medical technique involving the taking of cells or tissues for testing) with a special instrument, and the tissue taken is later goes on pathohistological analysis.
Pain-free gastroscopy
Local anesthesia for gastroscopy is performed by spraying the local anesthetic into the throat, what makes the whole examination easier to withstand. An allergic reaction to the anesthetic may occur as a complication in patients with hypersensitivity on lidocaine. If there is information about possible allergic reactions, the patient is obliged to share that information with the doctor before the examination. It is also important that the patient does not eat or drink anything due to local anesthesia for two hours, because food and drink can go into the windpipe.