Endoscopy, reliable and effective for diseases of the digestive tract
Written by:From the moment of its appearance, endoscopy has revolutionized the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the digestive system. This minimally invasive technique to diagnose a security greater than 97% most digestive ailments and provides means to treat bleeding or tumor of the digestive tract injuries.
Why undergo an endoscopy?
Endoscopy is the best technique for the diagnosis of diseases of the digestive tract (esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon and rectum). It is a basic tool for diagnosis of benign pathology (gastritis, ulcers, celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, etc.) and tumor lesions or pre-neoplastic lesions of the gastrointestinal tract.
Endoscopy resulted from the moment of its appearance, as four decades, a revolution in the management of digestive diseases ago, as increased diagnostic confidence to figures above 97%. It also facilitates a less invasive way to obtain biopsy samples for histological diagnosis.
Moreover, in the last two decades, endoscopy has acquired a very important therapeutic vocation, so that bleeding lesions or tumor lesions that were previously clear indication of surgery can now be treated endoscopically. In some cases, endoscopy may be diagnostic and therapeutic in a single act. The basic example is colonoscopy, a patient colonoscopy for colon cancer prevention is done; in the same act explores the colon and polyps that may be visisualizados are removed ..
They have also developed methods for endoscopic treatment of gastroesophageal reflux, obesity and other health problems. Additionally, there endoscopic techniques for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the biliary tract and pancreas.
Therefore also endoscopic treatment significantly reduces costs and also the risk of complications for patients.
Endoscopy with sedation
In recent years there has been widespread use of sedation for endoscopic procedures. Sedation is one of the quality standards of endoscopy at present. The patient must refuse to perform an endoscopy him that generates discomfort and suffering.
As advances further, there are the quality improvement of the endoscopic image, which significantly increases the safety of our diagnostic. Endoscopes not only offer us high definition images but also incorporate technologies that allow us to predict the histologic diagnosis of injuries we see.
Every time we have more and better tools that allow us to increasingly sophisticated and safe endoscopic treatment in conditions in which the solution was to earlier surgery.
Preparation for endoscopic what do I know?
The patient should know that although endoscopy is the best diagnostic technique is not infallible. No technique can guarantee 100% effectiveness, but in diseases of the digestive tract endoscopy is the one that comes closest.
Moreover, although it is a safe technique, there is minimal risk of complications, especially when the intention of the art is therapeutic. Therefore, it should only be performed when indicated. In no case should overshadow the realization of an adequate clinical history by the medical. In addition, there are risks based custom pathologies that can present the patient, so the test should indicate only the doctor who knows the history of his patient.
