Gastroscopy and endoscopy of the digestive tract
Viewing the oesophagus, stomach and duodenum with a flexible endoscope and taking samples for histopathology — without opening the abdomen. For animals with chronic vomiting or diarrhoea.
What it involves
Gastroscopy is an examination in which we pass a flexible endoscope with a camera through the mouth and view on a screen the lining of the oesophagus, stomach and the first part of the small intestine. We can see redness, erosions, ulcers, tumours, narrowings, foreign bodies and parasites — changes that neither X-ray nor ultrasound shows.
The most important part of the examination is the biopsies: through the endoscope channel we pass forceps and take a dozen or so small samples of the mucosa from the stomach and duodenum. They go for histopathological examination, which distinguishes chronic inflammatory bowel disease from lymphoma, detects infections and allows the treatment to be chosen. Without samples, many chronic digestive diseases remain “treated blindly”.
We perform the examination under general anaesthesia with intubation — the animal feels no discomfort and the airway is protected. It is minimally invasive: the patient goes home the same day and usually eats again in the evening.
When it is used
We recommend gastroscopy for vomiting or diarrhoea lasting more than 3–4 weeks that do not respond to diet and conservative treatment, for unexplained weight loss, blood in the vomit or tarry stools, difficulty swallowing, drooling and regurgitation of undigested food, and when a foreign body or ulcers caused by medication are suspected.
It is also a treatment method: it allows us to remove a foreign body from the oesophagus or stomach, widen an oesophageal stricture with a balloon or place a feeding tube.
Indications: symptoms that should prompt a visit
- A dog or cat has been vomiting several times a week for more than a month despite a change of food.
- The animal is losing weight although it eats normally, and blood tests and ultrasound have not shown the cause.
- There is blood or “coffee grounds” in the vomit, and the stools are black and tarry.
- A dog brings up undigested food right after eating, drools and chokes.
- A cat has chronic small-bowel diarrhoea, and on ultrasound the intestinal walls are thickened.
- An animal that has swallowed a corrosive substance or a sharp object has difficulty swallowing.
- Anti-inflammatory treatment helps, but every attempt to stop the medication ends in a relapse.
Conditions for which we use it in particular
Diagnostics beforehand
Endoscopy is the final examination, not the first. Beforehand we perform a blood count, biochemistry, a faecal examination (parasites, Giardia), often specific tests (TLI, folate, cobalamin, pancreatic lipase — sent to an external laboratory), an abdominal ultrasound and an elimination diet trial. Endoscopy has the greatest value only when these do not give an answer or ultrasound shows changes in the intestinal wall.
For anaesthesia, pre-anaesthetic assessment under STD-01 applies (clinical examination, blood tests, ASA grade, and in older patients a chest X-ray or echocardiogram). The animal must be fasted for 12 hours (in cats 8–12) — food remaining in the stomach makes it impossible to assess the mucosa; we withdraw water 2 hours beforehand.
How it proceeds
The patient arrives in the morning, fasted. After premedication and placement of an intravenous cannula, we induce general anaesthesia with intubation; we monitor ECG, oxygen saturation, capnography, blood pressure and temperature (STD-02). The animal lies on its left side. We pass the endoscope through the mouth and examine the oesophagus, the cardia, the whole stomach (including in a “retroflexed” view, to see the cardia from the inside), the pylorus and the duodenum. We record the image and take photographs for the records.
We then take samples with biopsy forceps — usually 8–12 from the stomach and 8–12 from the duodenum, because lesions can be patchy. If we are also performing a colonoscopy (suspected disease of the whole bowel), we do it during the same anaesthetic. The examination takes 30–60 minutes; longer if a foreign body is being removed or the oesophagus is being widened.
Recovery takes place in the in-patient hospital under observation. The patient goes home the same afternoon, once it is walking steadily. We send the samples for histopathology; the result arrives in 7–14 days.
Aftercare
On the evening after the examination, give a small portion of easily digestible food; slight drooling or an occasional cough in the first 24 hours is normal. After biopsies the mucosa heals by itself within a few days — there are no external wounds or stitches. Continue the current medication unless agreed otherwise.
When the histopathology result arrives, we arrange a visit at which we discuss the diagnosis and treatment plan — diet, anti-inflammatory drugs, vitamin B12 supplementation or oncological treatment. Call us sooner if there is severe vomiting, blood in the vomit or stool, loss of appetite for more than a day, or breathing difficulty.
Frequently asked questions
Does endoscopy replace diagnostic surgery?
In most diseases of the stomach and duodenum, yes — without opening the abdomen and without weeks of recovery. When the changes are deeper in the small intestine or in the bowel wall beyond the reach of the biopsy forceps, a laparotomy with a full-thickness biopsy may be needed — we tell you in advance if so.
How long must the dog go without food?
About 12 hours without food; withdraw water 2 hours before arrival. A full stomach makes it impossible to assess the mucosa and the examination would have to be repeated.
Do the biopsies hurt after the examination?
The samples are the size of a poppy seed and are taken from a layer that has no pain sensation; animals usually eat the same evening.
Will the result be available straight away?
We discuss the endoscopic findings straight after the examination and show you the photographs. The final diagnosis comes from histopathology after 7–14 days — only then do we decide on treatment.
We manage every case individually. The scope, indications and course described above are indicative; we agree the exact diagnostic and treatment plan during the consultation. This content is for information only and does not replace a veterinary consultation.
Do you have questions about gastroscopy and endoscopy of the digestive tract?
Call us or book a consultation. We will set out the diagnostic and treatment plan in writing, before you decide.