How can I best prepare for a successful endoscopy?

Doctor's Answers 1

Photo of Dr Wai Leong Quan
Dr Wai Leong Quan

Gastroenterologist

I am sorry to hear that. Failure in completing any endoscopic procedure may be due to unavoidable reasons such as anatomical changes after a surgery, narrowing of the intestinal lumen due to scarring or tumour growth, or other medical reasons when patient’s health may be at risk during the procedure.

Rarely, patients with especially sensitive intestines may not be able to tolerate the discomfort or bloating and the procedure may have to be postponed to another day with an anaesthetist to provide support for deeper sedation.

Putting the above reasons aside, one may be able to avoid repeating the procedure by adhering to the pre-procedure advice given by his or her doctor and to clarify any doubts they have before the procedure.

Some common problems resulting in a repeat procedure include failure to fast for the required time, unable to complete the bowel preparation given or failure to stop certain medicine your doctor requested you to do so before the procedure. So please go through the instructions carefully with your doctor before the procedure.

In addition to the above, the procedure may have to be repeated because of high risk findings in the specimen taken or unexpected discovery during the index endoscopy such that the procedure cannot be completed at one go.

Do speak with your endoscopist about your concerns so that he or she can advise you on the most appropriate way to avoid repeating the procedure unnecessarily.

Similar Questions

When is an endoscopy required?

Besides clinching diagnoses such as gastric ulcers, colonic polyps, or cancers, modern endoscopes can certainly be used to treat many different digestive conditions. Gastric Ulcer Small Intestine Polyp Bleeding gastric varices By removing a growth known as polyp in the large intestine through the process of Colonoscopy and Polypectomy, colon cancer death rates has been shown to be reduced by more than 50%. In cases with active bleeding from the digestive tract, endoscopy is now the first line treatment to arrest the bleeding.

Photo of Dr Wai Leong Quan

Answered By

Dr Wai Leong Quan

Gastroenterologist

How safe is an endoscopy?

Hi Si Yi, Endoscopy is minimally invasive. The risk of endoscopy is much lower than most surgery and most, if not all procedures, are carried out under some form of sedation or anaesthesia. This means that patients would sleep through the entire procedure and therefore not be aware or have no recollection of the procedure upon completion. The risk of endoscopy varies according to the type of procedure. A straightforward upper digestive endoscopy, for instance, can be completed in 15 minutes and carries very low risk of 1 in 10 thousand while colonoscopy carries a risk of 1 in a thousand.

Photo of Dr Wai Leong Quan

Answered By

Dr Wai Leong Quan

Gastroenterologist

Ask any health question for free

I’m not so sure about a procedure...

Ask Icon Ask a Question

Join Human

Sign up now for a free Human account to get answers from specialists in Singapore.

Sign Up

Get The Pill

Be healthier with our Bite-sized health news straight in your inbox