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Your doctor wants you to have an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (EGD) performed with your colonoscopy. This handout will tell you about the test. Please see the colonoscopy handout to for prep instructions.
Upper Gastrointestinal (GI) Endoscopy (EGD)
This is a test that looks at your esophagus (food tube), stomach and the upper part of the small intestine.
A doctor will pass a viewing tube through your mouth into the stomach. This test will help find the cause of abdominal pain, heartburn, and trouble with swallowing or bleeding. An EGD is better at finding many problems in the upper GI tract than an X-ray.
During the test the doctor can also take a small piece of tissue (a biopsy) to send to the lab if we need to look at an area more closely. Doctors take biopsies for many reasons. You will not be able to feel this part of the test.
After the Test
Your doctor will review the results and give you a report. We strongly suggest that you have your driver in the room with you to hear the results.
Going Home
You may feel tired when you leave. Spend the day resting at home.
Do not drive or return to work. You can return to your normal routine the next day.
You may have a mild sore throat. Salt-water gargles should help.
If you stopped blood thinning medicine before your test, ask when it can be restarted
Biopsy Results
If you have biopsies taken or polyps removed, you can expect to get lab results 1- 2 weeks later. Your results will be sent to your MyChart account. If you don’t have a MyChart account, someone will call you with results or results will be mailed to you.