Endoscopy

What happens during an endoscopy?

Your provider performs this procedure using an endoscope, a long, flexible tube with a small video camera and lighting. They guide the tube through your mouth to examine the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract or through your anus to evaluate your lower GI tract.

As the scope travels through your GI tract, the camera sends detailed images from inside your body to a monitor. The images allow your provider to accurately diagnose diseases, perform biopsies, and repair or treat gastrointestinal conditions.

What type of endoscopy might I need?

Though all endoscopies use a scope, they have different names, depending on the body area under examination. You may need one of the following:

Upper GI endoscopy (also called esophagogastroduodenoscopy or EGD)

An upper GI endoscopy examines your esophagus, stomach, and duodenum, which is the first part of the small intestine.

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)

An ERCP is a specialized technique to examine your liver, pancreas, and, sometimes, the gallbladder.

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)

EUS produces detailed images of your upper and lower GI tracts, including organs like your pancreas and gallbladder.

Enteroscopy (including capsule endoscopy)

An enteroscopy allows your provider to see more of the small intestine than is possible during an upper GI endoscopy. One type of enteroscopy, a capsule endoscopy, uses a wireless camera contained in a capsule.

Colonoscopy

During a colonoscopy, your provider examines your rectum and the full length of your large intestine.

Sigmoidoscopy

If you get a sigmoidoscopy, your provider evaluates only the rectum and the lower part of the large intestine.

What are the benefits of CO2 during an endoscopy?

During an endoscopy, your provider inflates the GI tract, enlarging it enough to safely accommodate the scope. Expanding the tract also improves your provider’s ability to examine the tissues lining the tract.

Many physicians use air to inflate the GI tract. But after your endoscopy, it takes your body a long time to absorb the excess air, causing post-procedure bloating, cramping, and severe abdominal pain.

The team at Northern Medical Group Gastroenterology Division uses CO2 (carbon dioxide) to inflate the tract. The GI tract absorbs CO2 160-times faster than air. As a result, you have significantly less pain and bloating.

Where is my endoscopy performed?

Northern Medical Group Gastroenterology Division owns and operates the region’s only free-standing, state-of-the-art ambulatory surgery center, the Hudson Valley Endoscopy Center in Fishkill.

No matter what type of endoscopy you need, they offer high-quality, individualized care, the latest medical treatment, and exceptional endoscopic procedures using advanced Olympus® technology.

Olympus endoscopy equipment produces high-resolution, narrow-band imaging. Narrow-band imaging allows your provider to find flat polyps, which typically go undetected during colonoscopies using less advanced technology.

The outpatient center is certified by the New York State Department of Health and is fully accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care.

To schedule an endoscopy, call Northern Medical Group Gastroenterology Division, or book an appointment online today.