About this topic
Your esophagus is also called your food pipe. When you swallow, food moves from your mouth, through your food pipe, down into your stomach. Doctors do an esophagoscopy to look at your food pipe. Your doctor may order the procedure to: ‚
- See the cause of swallowing problems, throat pain, continuous throwing up for no known reason, or bleeding
- Check if your food pipe is inflamed, narrowed, or blocked
- Check tumors in the food pipe and see if they are cancer
- Check for infections in the throat
- Learn more about your reflux
- Spray dye into the esophagus to check for abnormal cells, like cancer
- Take a sample of your food pipe and do tests on it. This is called a biopsy.
- Look at your voice box or larynx
- Give drugs directly onto or into your food pipe
- Give laser treatment or ablation. Ablation is the use of heat to kill bad or abnormal cells.
- Tie off bleeding veins. This is ligation.
- Remove stuck objects inside the throat
What care is needed at home?
- Ask your doctor what you need to do when you go home. Make sure you ask questions if you do not understand what the doctor says. This way you will know what you need to do.
- Your throat may feel sore. Suck on ice chips or lozenges to help relieve throat pain. Your doctor may give you drugs to help with pain.
- Talk to your doctor about when it is safe for you to go back to eating your normal diet and taking your drugs. You can drink fluid once the numbing drugs in your throat wear off. Do not eat or drink anything until the numbness in your throat goes away.
What follow-up care is needed?
- Your doctor may ask you to make visits to the office to check on your progress. Be sure to keep these visits.
- The results of this test may help your doctor understand what kind of problem you have with your esophagus. Together you can make a plan for more care.
What drugs may be needed?
The doctor may order drugs to: ‚
- Help with pain
- Start a new treatment
- Fight infection
Will physical activity be limited?
You may need to limit your activity for the rest of the day after the procedure. After that, you will likely be able to go back to your normal activities. ‚
What changes to diet are needed?
- You may have an upset belly after the procedure. Eat small amounts of soft foods the day after surgery. Avoid foods that have milk, as they cause mucus in the throat.
- Soft foods like gelatin or soups may be easier to eat at first. Ask your doctor if you need to make any changes to your diet.
What problems could happen?
- Injury to the structures around your esophagus
- A hole in the esophagus
- Throat pain
- Tongue soreness or numbness
- Injury to teeth
- Infection after biopsy
- Air leaking out under the skin. This is subcutaneous emphysema.
- Bleeding
- Aspiration or inhaling stomach contents into the lungs
- Reaction to drugs used for procedure
When do I need to call the doctor?
- Signs of infection. These include a fever of 100.4 ‚ °F (38 ‚ °C) or higher, chills, cough, more sputum or change in color of sputum, or pain.
- Numbness does not go away
- Throat or chest pain gets worse
- Redness and numbness on your tongue
- Loss of voice
- Spit or saliva with blood
- Black, tarry, or bloody stools
- Breathing problems
- Difficulty or severe pain with swallowing
- Swelling on the outside of your neck, jaw, face, or shoulders
- You are not feeling better in 2 to 3 days or you are feeling worse
Teach Back: Helping You Understand
The Teach Back Method helps you understand the information we are giving you. The idea is simple. After talking with the staff, tell them in your own words what you were just told. This helps to make sure the staff has covered each thing clearly. It also helps to explain things that may have been a bit confusing. Before going home, make sure you are able to do these: ‚
- I can tell you about my procedure.
- I can tell you what changes I need to make with my diet or drugs.
- I can tell you what I will do if I have very bad belly pain, throwing up blood, or my belly is hard and swollen.
Where can I learn more?
National Cancer Institute ‚
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/screening/esophageal/Patient/page3 ‚
Consumer Information Use and Disclaimer
This information is not specific medical advice and does not replace information you receive from your health care provider. This is only a brief summary of general information. It does NOT include all information about conditions, illnesses, injuries, tests, procedures, treatments, therapies, discharge instructions or life-style choices that may apply to you. You must talk with your health care provider for complete information about your health and treatment options. This information should not be used to decide whether or not to accept your health care providers advice, instructions or recommendations. Only your health care provider has the knowledge and training to provide advice that is right for you. ‚
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Copyright ‚ © 2015 Clinical Drug Information, LLC and Lexi-Comp, Inc. ‚