HEALTH CONDITION

Why it's used

A gastroscopy can be used to check symptoms or confirm a diagnosis, or it can be used to treat a condition.

Checking symptoms

A gastroscopy may be recommended if you have symptoms that suggest a problem with your stomach, oesophagus (gullet), or the first section of your small intestine (duodenum).

Problems that are sometimes investigated using a gastroscopy include:

Diagnosing conditions

A gastroscopy is also used to help confirm (or rule out) suspected conditions, such as:

As well as examining the oesophagus, stomach and duodenum, the endoscope (a thin, flexible tube that's passed down your throat) can be used to remove small samples of tissue for testing. This is known as a biopsy.

Treating conditions

A gastroscopy can also be carried out to treat some problems affecting the oesophagus, stomach and duodenum.

For example, a gastroscopy can be used to:

  • stop bleeding inside the stomach or oesophagus, such as bleeding caused by a stomach ulcer or enlarged veins (varices)
  • widen a narrowed oesophagus that's causing pain or swallowing difficulties – this can be caused by GORD, oesophageal cancer, or radiotherapy to the oesophagus
  • remove cancerous tumours, non-cancerous growths (polyps) or foreign objects
  • provide nutrients – a gastroscopy can help doctors guide a feeding tube into the stomach, when a person is unable to eat in the normal way


Page last reviewed: Sat Jun 2021 Next review due: Wed Feb 2020

NHS Attribution