An endoscopy is a minimally invasive procedure that allows your provider at Advanced Endoscopy Center to examine your gastrointestinal tract. During an endoscopy, your provider diagnoses inflammation, growths, blockages, stones, and many other problems. Then they treat the problem by guiding specialized tools through the scope.

Your provider performs this procedure using a medical device called an endoscope. These scopes are long, flexible tubes equipped with a video camera and lighting. They insert the scope through your mouth to examine the upper GI tract, or through the anus when they need to examine your lower GI tract. As they guide the scope through your GI tract, the camera sends images showing the tissues to a monitor.

An endoscopy identifies the root cause of symptoms such as abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, diarrhea, constipation, and acid reflux. After diagnostic imaging such as a CT scan or MRI shows problems, you may need an endoscopy to precisely identify the type, severity, and location of the condition.

You may need an endoscopy when you have symptoms but diagnostic imaging doesn’t reveal signs of a problem. Endoscopies are also done to screen for diseases like colon cancer and to monitor the results of treatment for a GI condition.