Endoscopy, Respiratory Therapy and Other Services

To evaluate symptoms of upper abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting or difficulty swallowing, your doctor may recommend upper endoscopy, which enables the physician to examine the lining of the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract, which includes the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum. This is the best test for finding the cause of bleeding from the upper GI tract. It's also more accurate than X-ray films for detecting inflammation, ulcers, and tumors of the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum. The physician uses a thin, flexible tube called an endoscope, which has its own lens and light source and views the images on a video monitor.

A physician might use upper endoscopy to obtain a biopsy to distinguish between benign and malignant (cancerous) tissues. Biopsies are taken for many reasons, and your physician might order one even if he or she does not suspect cancer. For example, your physician might use a biopsy to test for Helicobacter pylori, the bacterium that causes ulcers. Upper endoscopy is also used to treat conditions of the upper gastrointestinal tract. The physician can pass instruments through the endoscope to directly treat many abnormalities — this will cause you little or no discomfort.

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