Endoscopy & Endoscopic Ultrasound

Endoscopy is a procedure that lets your doctor look inside your body using an instrument called an endoscope, which has a tiny camera attached to a long, thin tube.

Using an endoscope, doctors can look inside the body and organs.

Sometimes scopes are used for surgeries, such as removing polyps from the colon. 

Ballad Health offers:

• Upper endoscopies – This is when the endoscope is passed through the mouth and throat and into the esophagus. Upper endoscopy allows the doctor to view the esophagus, stomach and upper part of the small intestine.
• Lower endoscopies – This includes colonoscopies, which pass through the rectum to examine the large intestine.
• Endoscopic ultrasounds – EUS combines upper endoscopy and ultrasound examination to obtain images and information about various parts of the digestive tract.

Patient benefits compared to X-ray

• Abnormalities such as bleeding and inflammation show up more clearly with endoscopy.
• Tumors and polyps can be discovered in earlier stages.
• Instruments for bleeding treatment or to remove tissue samples for testing can be attached to the scope.