Throat Endoscopy

Throat Endoscopy

Endoscopy is a test that an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist uses to look at the back of your throat.

An endoscope is a long, flexible tube. It has a camera and light at one end, and an eyepiece at the other. Your doctor uses it to see the inside of your nose and throat very clearly.

Preparing for your test

You might have a blood test 2 days beforehand to check how well your blood clots.

Tell your doctor if you’re taking medicine that changes how your blood clots. This includes:

• aspirin
• clopidogrel
• arthritis medicines
• warfarin

Your doctor tells you if you need to stop taking any other medicines.

You can’t eat for 6 to 8 hours before the test but you might be able to drink sips of water up to 2 hours before your appointment. Your doctor or nurse gives you written instructions about this beforehand.

Talk to your doctor if not eating could be a problem for you. For example, if you have diabetes.

How you have it

Usually you have an endoscopy in hospital as an outpatient. A doctor or a specialist nurse (endoscopist) does the test. A nurse stays with you when you have it. The test usually takes less than 30 minutes.

When you arrive at the clinic, the staff might ask you to take your upper clothing off and put on a hospital gown.

You might have the test while you’re awake but you can choose to have a medicine to make you drowsy (a sedative).

What happens

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You lie down on the couch and have an injection of the sedative. It takes a few minutes for you to become sleepy.

Then the endoscopist passes the endoscope down your throat into your food pipe. The tube has an ultrasound probe. This uses sound waves to build up a picture so your doctor can see the food pipe, stomach and surrounding areas. They might also be able to see if the nearby lymph nodes are swollen (enlarged).

The endoscopist gently removes the tube.