Endoscopy - Painless Surgery
Endoscopy is a relatively safe, minimally invasive procedure used to evaluate the interior surfaces of an organ through natural orifices of the body. Through the flexible scope, the physicians are able to see lesions, take small biopsies and retrieve some foreign objects if necessary.If your physician feel you may have an intestinal problem your physician may recommend a procedure called endoscopy.
During this procedure the patient is placed under brief short anaesthesia and a small fiberoptic flexible tube with camera on its tip is passed down the esophagus, into the stomach and into a portion of intestine. Your physician may opt to introduce endoscope through anus. If the physician feels that you are showing symptoms of a problem in the large intestine, they may recommend colonoscopy.
This procedure is similar to the gastroduodenoscopy but the endoscope is used to examine the colon.With this camera the physician is able to visualize the surface of these organs and look for abnormalities. He is also able to obtain biopsies of these areas if it is necessary. These biopsies are sent to a pathologist for evaluation to determine if there is an underlying intestinal problem.
Endoscopic procedures are relatively painless and are usually only associated with mild discomfort. Depending on how you do during anaesthesia patient may need to stay in the hospital for few hours after the procedure. Sometime if biopsy is taken you may have to wait many days to get result. Typically, we receive biopsy results within 2-4 days. At that time, your physician will discuss the diagnosis and treatment options with you.
Complications of endoscopy are rare but may include perforation of the stomach or intestine with the endoscope or biopsy instrument. If this occurs, surgery is required to repair the defect.Endoscopic equipment can also be used to visualize and collect specimens from the lower respiratory tract known as bronchoscopy, the nose; rhinoscopy, or the urinary tract; cystoscopy.
Nowadays there is not any single specialization of the medicine where endoscope is not used in one way or another. Although these procedures are easier on the patient than surgery, the trade-off is that the biopsy samples are smaller. In some instances, your physician may feel there is more going on than the biopsies revealed and suggest further diagnostics. Rest assured that your specialist will assist you in the selection of diagnostics that will maximize the chances of obtaining a correct diagnosis with minimum risk to you.
The Endoscope An endoscope consists of two basic parts:
1. A tubular probe fitted with a tiny camera and bright light, which is inserted through natural orifices and
2. A viewing screen, which magnifies the transmitted images of the body’s internal structures.
Note :
It is important to keep in mind that the endoscopic approach has only recently been applied to the field of medicine.
There are some known risks, which vary in severity depending on the procedure being performed. These include infection, blood vessel damage, nerve damage or loss of feeling, internal perforation injury.
It is a fact of life in medical profession that patients evaluate the quality of medical care they receive from the manner in which it is delivered and through personal contact, as well as from the technical level of physicians skills.
To provide excellent service, physician have to overcome patient’s and family member’s personal experiences of pain, anxiety, and fear. Through personal attention to the core values of Mission, Excellence, Respect, Integrity and Trust a good physician are better able to serve their patients, their families their co-workers.