Introduction
Gastroscopy is a routine procedure performed daily in Germany to diagnose diseases of the esophagus, stomach and duodenum. Since complications occur only rarely, gastroscopy can be performed under outpatient conditions in appropriately equipped medical practices or in hospital. A general anaesthetic is usually not necessary.
Patients are given sedatives and sleeping pills in small doses and are thus put into a sleep-like state. You can go home shortly after the operation. During gastroscopy, the walls of the oesophagus, stomach and duodenum are imaged using fever-optical camera technology, which is inserted through the mouth with a tube.
In order to be able to better assess the stomach, it is inflated slightly using a gas mixture. Gastroscopy is used to clarify heartburn, chronic stomach pain, digestive problems or in the emergency treatment of gastric bleeding. Stomach pain can occur after a gastroscopy. Most of the time, they are harmless, but in some cases they may indicate more serious complications. If symptoms occur that go beyond the usual complaints after gastroscopy, this should be clarified in hospital.
Causes for pain after gastroscopy
Abdominal pain after a gastroscopy is usually caused by remnants of the air-gas mixture used, which may remain in the stomach after the procedure. These complaints are common after gastroscopy and disappear by themselves after some time. The gas mixture stretches the stomach wall even after removal of all devices and can lead to stomach pain and later to flatulence.
Occasionally, the stomach lining also reacts sensitively to the mechanical stimuli that are set during the procedure. These include the artificial stretching of the stomach wall and stimuli caused when the endoscope is pushed. Only extremely rarely are structures of the oesophagus, stomach or duodenum actually injured.
This can be favoured by anatomical peculiarities. In most cases, the damage to the mucous membrane is minor, bleeds moderately or not at all and requires no further treatment. In some cases, however, perforation of the wall of the stomach or duodenum or the oesophagus may occur. This is a very dangerous complication and should be treated promptly in hospital.
Diagnosis
The doctor will usually first conduct an anamnesis interview. This gives the patient the opportunity to describe his or her symptoms in detail. Particular attention should be paid to the duration of the complaints, the character of the pain, the time course of the pain and possible accompanying symptoms.
This is usually followed by a rough physical examination that focuses on the abdomen. If pain can be intensified by pressure on the abdominal wall, if the abdominal muscles are very tense or if the patient shows signs of fever, this can give the doctor decisive indications of the type of illness. If the practice has an ultrasound machine, an ultrasound examination can take place immediately afterwards.
With the so-called sonography, the organs of the abdominal cavity can be depicted painlessly and without the use of harmful radiation. Bleeding can often be detected by ultrasound. If a complication is urgently suspected, a new gastroscopy can be performed after careful risk-benefit analysis. If an X-ray machine is available, an X-ray of the abdomen can help to diagnose damage to the stomach or duodenum. A blood test provides information as to whether there is an infection in the body.
