Gastroenterology Services

Endoscopy

An endoscopy allows your consultant to see inside your body. A long, thin, flexible tube with a telescopic camera and light source, called an endoscope, is used.

Endoscopes are inserted into your body through natural openings such as your mouth and down the throat or, through the anus. An endoscopy is typically performed on a day case basis under local anaesthetic.

Commonly used endoscopy procedures include: colonoscopy, gastroscopy, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and flexible sigmoidoscopy.

Colonoscopy

A colonoscopy is a diagnostic test that looks at the lining of your large bowel, also known as the colon and rectum. It can be used to find out more about the symptoms you may be experiencing such as persistent diarrhoea, bowel movement changes, bleeding or mucus from your back passage and pains in your lower stomach or, to check for cancer or as part of bowel cancer screening.

A colonoscope is a long, thin, flexible telescopic camera with a light source. A colonoscopy is usually performed on an outpatient or day case basis and takes about half an hour. It may confirm conditions such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, bowel polyps and bowel cancer.

At Winfield Hospital our patients benefit from the latest Olympus Scopeguide technology that offers real-time 3D images of the colonoscope and allows easier navigation through the colon and less patient discomfort.

Gastroscopy

A gastroscopy is also known as an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. It’s a day case procedure performed under local anaesthetic that allows your specialist to see inside your oesophagus, stomach and first part of your small intestine, called the duodenum. It’s often performed if patients have indigestion symptoms.

A gastroscope is a thin, flexible tube with a camera and light source and during a gastroscopy it’s passed through your mouth so that any abnormalities in the oesophagus, stomach and duodenum can be detected, such as damage to the lining of your oesophagus or stomach or ulcers in the stomach or duodenum.

Lactose intolerance quick test

During a gastroscopy, we can also perform a lactose intolerance quick test, called a Biohit lactose intolerance test, to detect if you have lactase deficiency.

It’s a fast and simple test that’s based on the activity of the lactase enzyme in a biopsy specimen. Results are available in just 20 minutes.

The lactose intolerance quick test is often used to predict a patient’s response to a lactase-free diet and is more accurate than the more traditional lactose breath test in.

Flexible sigmoidoscopy

A flexible sigmoidoscopy looks inside your rectum and lower part of your bowel. A thin, flexible, tube-like telescope called a sigmoidoscope is carefully inserted into your back passage. It usually takes around 15 minutes and is performed on an outpatient basis.

It’s used to investigate symptoms such as bowel movement changes or rectal pain. It aims to find their cause, whilst checking for inflammation, early signs of cancer and polyps. During a flexible sigmoidoscopy exam, a biopsy may be taken, polyps may be removed and haemorrhoids treated.