Early detection, whatever the pathology, is key to not only having a better prognosis but a higher chance of healing or symptom relief. Diagnostic methods, according to the times, continue to evolve to increase the accuracy of their results and minimize discomfort in the patient.
One of the most common diagnostic tests for evaluating specific areas inside the human body is endoscopy. Through this examination, the specialist can visually confirm the actual state of the organs to monitor and identify anomalies in them.
There are various types of endoscopies, which are nominee according to the point of introduction or objective of their research. Thus, a bronchoscopy evaluates the lungs while a laparoscopy does with the abdomen or pelvis, to name two examples.
What Endoscopy Is For?
An endoscopy is a medical procedure used to see the person’s inside life. To do this, a thin tube is inserted with a light and a camera at its end. Both allow the physician to see, literally, the inside of the organ or organ objects of observation.
Thanks to the advances in the diagnosis of endoscopy, many minor surgeries are avoided and used until their onset as the only way to check and confirm the actual state of the internal organs.
Endoscopy not only serves as a diagnostic tool. It is common for the doctor to take the test to take tissue samples, and even for simple surgeries such as removing foreign bodies (e.g. polyps) or stopping bleeding.
Just as there are several endoscopy modes, the doctor has various types of endoscope, each suitable for the part of the body that needs to be seen. Thus, the endoscopes that inverse into how a joint or a bone is are usually rigid. On the contrary, endoscopes that are introduced by natural holes are flexible to adapt to the cavities.
Although it is common to use a natural hole (mouth, anus, urethra) to introduce the endoscope, endoscopies may also require a small incision in the skin of the area to be observed.
The Most Common Or Known Endoscopy Modes
Numerous endoscopy specialties are depending on the organ or area to be explored. We’ll focus on the most common.
The arthroscopy examines a joint inside. This is one of the few cases where an incision in the skin is required to introduce the arthroscope.
A colonoscopy looks at the colon and the large intestine. The colonoscopy is introduced by the anus.
The hysteroscopy aims at the uterus, which is accessed through the vagina.
Laparoscopy allows the doctor to check the state of the area between the abdomen and the pelvis. It also requires a small cut on the skin.
To rule out bronchitis, bronchoscopy is used, and it is done through the nose. To see the trachea, it is inserted through the mouth.
High gastroscopy or digestive endoscopy is the most popular. The generic term of the test is often confused, and this specific modality is used to see the interior of the esophagus, stomach, and even duodenum. The corresponding endoscope is inserted through the mouth.
It should be said that, in most cases, endoscopy is done with the sedated patient, since the introduction of a foreign object inside and in small cavities is not a pleasant sensation.
Other Tools That May Be Needed For Endoscopic Exam
In addition to wielding the endoscope, the doctor may require other tools that either help you open the channel to insert the endoscope, perform a treatment, or remove tissue for analysis.
These auxiliary endoscopy devices range from forceps, which can be flexible or rigid, or a cytological brush for tests on the vagina and neck of a woman’s uterus.
How An Endoscopy Is Done?
The basic procedure of an endoscopy is simple: it is a question of inserting the tube into the channel to the observation or intervention point, according to the objective of the test.
For any type of endoscopy, it is important to comply with the preparation steps that the doctor establishes for the patient. This minimizes the risks, existing, during the examination. Thus, in general terms, endoscope tests require a previous fast of an average of 8 hours (all will depend on the type of endoscopy), only when liquid intake up to 4 hours before the appointment for the test is allowed. It is the physician himself who must determine, if you are in treatment, whether it can affect the test or the results to request the patient to pause it.
This Is How The Test Is Carried Out
On the day of the appointment, if you have not been informed before, the doctor explains to the patient what the endoscopy consists of, what the objective of the same is, how it will proceed, and what the risks of the test are. In most cases, consent is required by the patient.
To perform the endoscopic examination, the patient must lie on the side, at which point, if the doctor considers it and the patient is aware, the local/partial/total anesthetized is performed. The only reason for this measure is to avoid the involuntary tension that is generated when a foreign object is felt inside us.
Once introduced into the corresponding channel, air or gas is usually breathed into the ducts to favor a size that allows the passage or activity of the endoscope or the necessary tools.
The estimated time for the test ranges from 5 minutes to half an hour. If you have applied sedation, it is better to wait a while until you wake up or completely expel the anesthesia before driving or performing other physical activities.
Are There Risks to Endoscopy?
There is no invasive medical evidence that does not involve a certain level of risk. Although diagnostic technology has evolved, compounds that can generate allergic reactions or procedures in which unwanted drilling can be done in the body are still used.
When To Do An Endoscopy?
In what situations can I recommend an endoscopy? It should be clarified that, as in any medical examination, it is not mandatory to undergo it. Another thing is that the doctor does not find another reliable diagnostic method.
Doctors usually recommend endoscopy to detect and prevent cancer (with the extraction of polyps or follow-up of tumors), to know the origin of a disease or to confirm its diagnosis, and even to perform some type of treatment without the need for a deep wound that takes longer to heal. Such is the case with laparoscopic surgery, therapies that use light to destroy cancer cells, or photodynamic therapies.
New endoscopy techniques walk towards less intrusion in the patient, minimizing discomfort and side effects. This is the case for CT scans or the use of endoscopic capsules that remove the tube.