Endoscopy is a diagnostic procedure used at our practice to enable us to investigate disease in a number of different body systems. The endoscopes are long flexible tubes which contain bundles of delicate fibre optics. They allow us to create an image of the inside of a body space without the need for surgery.
The main body systems we use endoscopy to investigate are the gastrointestinal tract (stomach, small intestine and colon) and the respiratory tract (nasal passages, trachea and lungs).
As well as allowing us to visualise inside these systems, we are also able to take small samples of fluid and tissue to send away for laboratory evaluation. This helps us to make a more specific diagnosis and offer your pet the most appropriate treatment.
In some circumstances, the endoscopes can also be used in an emergency scenario for example in the retrieval of a foreign body such as a sock lodged in the stomach or a grass awn in the respiratory tract.
Usually, endoscopy will require a general anaesthetic and may require some patient preparation, for example a period of starvation. The majority of our endoscopy patients however are in for the day and back home evening.
Endoscopy compliments our other imaging techniques such as ultrasound and radiology and therefore allows us to diagnose many conditions with minimal invasion.