TR EN

Endoscopy

Endoscopy / December 22, 2023 / 3 minutes read.

Endoscopy is a device used to examine patients’ esophagus, stomach, and duodenum using a flexible thin device with a lighted camera system at its tip. With devices that are constantly changing, improving, and developing in parallel with advances in camera technology, doctors can now see, touch, and take biopsy samples from patients’ internal organs in more detail.

Since patients are sedated during this procedure, it is ensured to be both safe and comfortable. The authority to perform endoscopy procedures has been given by law to gastroenterology, gastrointestinal surgery, pediatric surgery, and pediatric gastroenterology specialists.

Routine diagnostic endoscopy takes approximately 10 minutes, and no preparation is required except for 6-8 hours of fasting. Patients taking blood-thinning medications that pose a bleeding risk may need to stop these for the specified periods before the procedure.

It is the most reliable early diagnosis method in follow-up protocols for patients at high risk of cancer development in the population. These methods can be used by physicians not only for diagnosis but also therapeutically.

Who is endoscopy performed on?

For diagnostic purposes:

1. Unexplained loss of appetite, weight loss, stomach and abdominal pain that does not improve despite treatment

2. Swallowing difficulty, feeling of sticking in the throat and esophagus, and pain during swallowing,

3. Resistant reflux that does not improve despite 6 weeks of medication treatment, painful swallowing, or dyspepsia

4. Unexplained persistent vomiting,

5. Unexplained iron deficiency anemia,

7. Confirmation of lesions shown radiologically and taking biopsies for histopathological diagnosis,

8. Determining the location and cause of bleeding (hematemesis and/or melena)

9. Detection of acute damage after corrosive, caustic substance intake,

10. Determination and periodic follow-up of esophageal and gastric (fundal) varices in cirrhosis patients,

11. Determination and periodic follow-up of Barrett’s metaplasia of the esophagus,

12. For taking small intestine biopsies to investigate the cause of malabsorption

13. Follow-up of adenomatous gastric polyps

14. Cancer investigations (to determine cancer development in the early period in those with alarm symptoms and those with first-degree relatives with stomach cancer)

15. For investigating unknown primary adenocarcinoma or liver metastases

16. In celiac disease / Gluten enteropathy, taking biopsies from the duodenum for definitive diagnosis and follow-up in case of treatment unresponsiveness

17. Unexplained worsening in dyspeptic complaints

18. Newly developed and persistent, recurring when PPI is stopped, unexplained dyspepsia in those over 45 years of age

19. Control endoscopy to determine healing in selected esophageal, gastric, and stoma ulcers,

20. At appropriate intervals for follow-up in cases with atrophic gastritis, intestinal metaplasia, and dysplasia

For treatment purposes:

1. Treatment of esophageal varices (band ligation, sclerotherapy, tissue adhesive application)

2. Treatment of non-variceal bleeding (bipolar coagulation, Heater probe, Argon plasma Coagulation, Adrenaline, sclerosant injection therapy, Ankaferd, application of coagulation foam and powder, hemoclip application), cauterization of angiodysplasias,

3. Balloon, bougie dilation in strictures,

4. Polyp removal,

5. Endoscopic mucosal resection (removal of tumoral structures that have not reached the muscle layer in the tissue)

6. Foreign body removal,

7. Stent placement in strictures,

8. Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG feeding tube placement)

9. It is performed for endoscopic incision in bile duct obstruction (papillotomy/sphincterotomy), breaking (lithotripsy) and removal of bile duct stones, balloon dilation of strictures, and stent placement in strictures and leaks. These procedures are performed within the scope of the ERCP procedure.

By: Prof. Dr. Hakan Demirci
Tags:
Next In Media and Press: Prof. Dr. Hakan Demirci