A gastroscopy is a procedure to look inside your upper gastrointestinal tract. It’s sometimes called an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, an upper GI endoscopy or an oesophago-gastro-duodenoscopy (OGD).
About gastroscopy
Gastroscopy is a type of endoscopy. This is a procedure that uses a long, flexible tube called an endoscope to look inside your body.
In a gastroscopy, the endoscope (also called a gastroscope) is passed into your mouth to look at the upper section of your gastrointestinal tract. This includes your oesophagus (food pipe), stomach and duodenum (the first part of your small bowel). The gastroscope has a light and camera on the end of it, to take images from inside your gastrointestinal tract.
Why do I need a gastroscopy?
Your doctor may suggest a gastroscopy to investigate certain symptoms relating to your digestive system. These may include:
- Persistent indigestion or heartburn
- Difficulty swallowing or painful swallowing
- Abnormal bleeding – such as blood in your poo or vomiting blood
- Continually being, or feeling sick
- Pain in your upper abdomen
- Iron-deficiency anaemia
- Losing weight without trying to
A gastroscopy can help to diagnose or monitor many different health conditions affecting your gastrointestinal tract. These may include Crohn’s disease, stomach ulcers, pancreatitis, gallstones, gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) and cancers affecting the digestive system.
If you have a condition called Barrett’s oesophagus, you will be offered regular gastroscopies. This is to check for changes in the cells in the lining of your oesophagus.
You can also have a gastroscopy as part of treatment for a health condition. This might include to repair a stomach ulcer or remove a polyp (growth).
Private care for gastroscopy
Gastroscopy is available both on the NHS and privately. Either way, you will need to be referred by a consultant or GP. Depending on why you need a gastroscopy, you’re likely to be able to access the procedure faster through private care. If you have health insurance, check whether it covers gastroscopy.
A gastroscopy procedure is similar, whether you have it on the NHS or privately. But there will usually be differences in how you receive your care. You’ll probably have a greater choice of when and where you can have the procedure too.
Preparing for a gastroscopy
Tell the doctor performing the test if you’re taking any medicines, especially ones that affect blood clotting like warfarin or heparin.4,5 You might need to stop taking certain medicines before a gastroscopy.3-5
You’ll usually need to stop eating 6 hours before a gastroscopy. You might be able to continue having sips of water up to 2 hours before the procedure.3-5 You’ll be given fasting instructions to confirm exactly when to stop eating or drinking.
What happens in a gastroscopy?
You’ll usually have a gastroscopy as an outpatient in an endoscopy unit. This means you won’t need to stay overnight – you should be able to go home after the procedure.
You may have your gastroscopy under sedation. This will make you feel relaxed and drowsy and might mean you won’t even remember it. If you don’t have sedation, you can have a local anaesthetic spray on the back of your throat. This will numb your throat before the gastroscope is inserted.
You’ll be asked to lie on your left side. Your doctor will pass the gastroscope into your mouth and down your oesophagus. You may be asked to swallow as the tube is inserted. Your doctor may pump a small amount of air in through the gastroscope, to help them see more clearly.
The gastroscope can take images from inside your gastrointestinal tract, which your doctor will be able to see on a screen. Your doctor may take a biopsy (tissue sample) or perform any treatment you need during the gastroscopy.
At the end of the procedure, your doctor will remove the gastroscope.
Recovery and what to expect after a gastroscopy
If you’ve had sedation, you’ll be asked to wait in the endoscopy unit for up to two hours to recover. You’ll need to have a friend or relative who can drive you home and stay with you overnight. Keep the rest of the day free at home so you can rest and recover.
If you’ve had a local anaesthetic throat spray, you shouldn’t eat or drink until it’s worn off. This may take around an hour. Make sure you can swallow comfortably before you do eat or drink anything.
It’s common to have some bloating and discomfort after a gastroscopy. You can expect this to wear off after a few hours. You may also have a sore throat from where the gastroscope was passed down your throat. This should wear off within a few days. You can take painkillers if you need to. But contact the hospital if your pain is severe.
Your doctor may be able to discuss some of the findings from the gastroscopy with you immediately. Or they may follow up with you at a later date. They should let you know what to expect before you leave the hospital.
Potential complications of gastroscopy
Gastroscopy is generally considered a relatively safe procedure. But you should be aware that it does come with some risks. These may include the following.
- Bleeding following a biopsy
- Perforation (tearing) of your bowel, oesophagus or stomach
- Reaction to sedative medicines, such as breathing problems however serious problems are rare as you are monitored during the OGD.
Serious complications are rare with gastroscopy. If you have any problems, such as fever or severe pain after your procedure, contact the hospital straight away.
Gastroscopy costs and fees
If you have private medical insurance, check with your insurer whether they will cover the cost of gastroscopy. This may depend on why you are having it.
You can also pay for gastroscopy yourself (known as self-funding). Typically, an initial consultation for a diagnostic gastroscopy will cost between £180 and £250. The procedure itself costs between £150 and £450. Gastroscopy costs in the UK vary depending on where you live. If you go ahead with the procedure, you’ll be offered one of the following.
- An all-inclusive ‘package price’, where you know the full costs before having the procedure. Not all consultants and hospitals offer this.
- A ‘fee-per-service’ deal, where you receive different invoices from the consultant, the anaesthetist and the hospital. You often won’t know the full costs until you receive the invoices.
For more information, you can read our guide on self-pay.
References
- Endoscopy. Encyclopaedia Britannica.https://www.britannica.com/science/endoscopy, last updated 8 September 2023.
- Endoscopy. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/endoscopy, last reviewed 12 March 2018.
- Ahlawat R, Hoilat GJ, Ross AB. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy. StatPearls. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532268, last updated 8 August 2023.
- Gastroscopy. Cancer Research UK. https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/tests-and-scans/gastroscopy, last reviewed 9 September 2022.
- EGD Test (Esophagogastroduodenoscopy). Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/egd-esophagogastroduodenoscopy, updated 15 December 2021.
- Endoscopy: What to know. MedicalNewsToday. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153737, updated 6 January 2023.
- Caring for someone recovering from a general anaesthetic or sedation. Royal College of Anaesthetists, November 2021. https://www.rcoa.ac.uk/sites/default/files/documents/2021-11/12-SedationCarer2021web.pdf.
