What is gastroscopy and why is it done?

Arriving at the endoscopy unit, a nurse will take you to the examination preparation area and will receive the consent form for the examination that you have signed. You will also need to remove artificial dentures as well as eyeglasses that will be kept safe by the unit staff until the end of the test.

Gastroscopy is performed with the patient lying on the examination bed on the left hand side. A special sensor is placed on the patient’s finger to record pulse and oxygen saturation in the blood during the examination. Local oral anesthesia (xylocaine) will be given, and through a tube placed in a vein in your arm (vein catheter) you will be given mild sedation which will relax you so that the test can be tolerated without any discomfort.

The doctor will then insert a delicate and extremely flexible oral endoscope by pushing it into the pharynx, esophagus, stomach and finally into the duodenum, examining each section thoroughly and taking biopsies for more specialized testing if necessary. This endoscope is called gastroscope and has a small camera at its end that emits light that allows the doctor to take detailed images of the upper digestive tract on a special high-definition screen.

The esophagus, stomach and duodenum are checked during the examination. A test sample is taken to check for Helicobacter pylori (a bacterium that has been implicated in causing certain diseases such as ulcers or gastritis) and, if necessary, further biopsies are taken.