An endoscopy is a procedure used in medicine to look inside the body. The endoscopy procedure uses an endoscope to examine the interior of a hollow organ or cavity of the body. There are many types of endoscopies.
The procedure will depend to some extent on the reason for the endoscopy.
Upper GI Endoscopy: is the endoscopic examination of the upper gastrointestinal tract from the esophagus to the duodenum.
There are three main reasons for carrying out an endoscopy:
Investigation: Endoscopy is a useful modality for investigating patients suffering from abdominal pain ,vomiting,difficulty in swallowing, unexplained anemia and weight loss, reflux symptoms , to look for stomach ulcers and any bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract.
Confirmation of a diagnosis: Endoscopic biopsies are used for diagnosing malignancies of the gastrointestinal tract
Treatment: An endoscope can treat an illness such as hemoclip application of bleeding vessel or banding of varices