Endoscopy

An endoscopy is a procedure where our veterinarian inserts an endoscope, which is a tubular instrument with a tiny camera and light on an end - into an opening of the pet's body. The point of this tool is to examine your pet's stomach and small intestine. This allows us to be able to diagnose any gastrointestinal conditions, like inflammatory bowel disease and gastrointestinal lymphoma.

 

General anesthesia is required for pets since they don't typically understand that this seemingly intrusive procedure is trying to help them instead of hurt them. During this procedure, the endoscope is inserted through the mouth and passes through the esophagus and into their stomach. With the help of the small camera, Dr. Lorens is able to examine the stomach for any abnormalities. After this, the scope then travels to the upper portion of the small intestine. This is so we can examine the GI (gastrointestinal) tract.

 

During this time, we also take multiple tissue samples for a biopsy. This is obtained from the stomach and small intestine and is typically submitted for a histopathology or microscopic analysis in order for us to confirm our diagnosis. These samples are extremely small and don't cause any harm or require any sutures. Once this is obtained, the scope is removed and the procedure is finished.

 

If you have any questions regarding this service, don't hesitate to contact your Rocky Mount or Martinsville veterinarian, Dr. Eric Lorens, to schedule a consultation.