Endoscopy Unit

Endoscopy is one of the most significant breakthroughs of recent decades in the speciality dealing with the digestive system that allows doctors to visualise conditions that could have only been intuited in the past.

Endoscopy provides a visual examination of the digestive cavity thanks to endoscope, i.e., a thin tube fitted with a lighting system to explore internal ducts through images delivered by a video camera.

Traditional endoscopy assists diagnosis as it allows biopsies to be performed to ascertain whether malignant or benign tumours are present. This technique, for instance, it allows polyps to be excised in order to prevent the growth of a potentially malignant lesion in the future. Therefore, it is an essential prevention tool when dealing with colon cancer.

Advanced endoscopy allows operations to be performed on bile ducts and the pancreas; additionally, tumours can be diagnosed and measured to establish their extension by means of endoscopic echographies (echoendoscopy).

High-resolution endoscopy is available at the endoscopy units run by the IMQ Zorrotzaurre  and Virgen Blanca clinics. It is the most efficient, minimally invasive diagnostic technique used to treat diseases involving the digestive system, bile ducts and pancreas and no conventional surgery is required.

Different types of endoscopies

Gastroscopy and colonoscopy are the most frequently used techniques at our Endoscopy Unit. If necessary, biopsies can be taken to study specimens under a microscope and ascertain  whether malignant polyps are present to perform a resection.

More and more new endoscopic techniques are being incorporated and named according to where they are applied: bronchoscopy (if inserted in the respiratory system), digestive echoendoscopy, bronchial echoendoscopy, intestinal capsules, etc.

  • Gastroscopy or endoscopy helps to visualise and/or operate in the upper segment of the digestive system (oesophagus, stomach and duodenum). It is associated with numerous applications: excision of polyps, treatment of lesions and haemorrhages, etc.

Team

Full medical team of Endoscopy Unit

Frequently asked questions

  • How should I prepare for an endoscopy?

    If you are going to undergo an endoscopy, just follow the indications that will be given by the team of professionals with regard to your specific condition.

    Generally speaking, endoscopies performed from the mouth require that patients eat no food for at least 6 hours before the exploration is performed to eliminate the presence of any vision-obstructing food. In the case of anal endoscopies, gut-flushing preparations must be taken in advance to eliminate all traces of faecal matter.

    As regards certain types of endoscopic interventions, antibiotics must be administered before the process is carried out and admission to hospital is required; moreover, treatments involving the use of certain types of anti-clotting and antiaggregant drugs must be suspended always according to instructions given by the doctor in charge who will decide whether this treatment has to be called off and/or replaced by other options.

    As endoscopies are performed under sedation or anaesthesia, patients feel very little discomfort during the process.