The Endoscopy Unit at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre provides a number of services. Using a flexible tube that contains a camera, specialists can actually look inside your body including the throat, stomach, lungs, and intestines for a variety of medical conditions including ulcers, inflammation, tears or other injuries, and polyps or other abnormal growths. In many cases, the specialists can treat the condition during the procedure. In other cases, the images taken during a procedure are used to diagnose and plan treatment, as necessary.
Procedures Performed in the Endoscopy Department
- Bronchoscopy
- Gastroscopy
- Colonoscopy
- Sigmoidoscopy (also called flexible sigmoidoscopy)
- Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
- Esophageal dilation (dilatation)
- Esophageal Motility Studies (EMS)
- Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy Tube Insertion (PEG tube insertions)
- Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS)
What to Expect
Your specialist or primary care provider will have given you a list of things to do to prepare for your procedure including when to stop eating or drinking, what medications to take, etc. Please review this information sheet.
Also, most procedures require the use of a sedative, so please arrange transportation to and from the Health Sciences Centre.
On the day of your procedure:
- Please bring your health card
- Proceed to the Surgical Day Care Reception area on Level 3 (directions are posted on this page under “How Do I Get There?”)
- Reception will guide you through the rest of your procedure
Recovery time for most procedures is usually fairly quick, though the sedatives used during the procedures may leave you feeling sleepy. Please avoid driving or operating other equipment for at least the remainder of the day.
To find out more about your particular procedure including questions about recovery, please talk to you primary care provider (family doctor or nurse practitioner) or your specialist. Please note that reception will not be able to discuss any specific medical questions with you.
