Endoscopic Ultrasound (Oral): Before Your Procedure

What is oral endoscopic ultrasound?

Oral endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is a procedure that lets your doctor look at the walls of your esophagus, stomach, and upper gastrointestinal tract. It doesn't use X-rays or other radiation.

The doctor uses a long, thin, flexible tube with a camera and light on the end. It's called an endoscope, or scope. The doctor gently puts the scope into your mouth, down the esophagus, and into the stomach to the area to be examined. The scope can take pictures of organs. It helps look for problems in the stomach, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, and the first part of your small intestine, called the duodenum.

The procedure can take up to an hour if a sample of tissue is taken to be tested. This is called a biopsy.

You won't feel pain. You may go home after your doctor checks to make sure that you aren't having any problems.

How do you prepare for the procedure?

Procedures can be stressful. This information will help you understand what you can expect. And it will help you safely prepare for your procedure.

Preparing for the procedure

• You will be given instructions on when you need to stop eating and drinking before the test.
• Understand exactly what procedure is planned, along with the risks, benefits, and other options.
• Tell your doctor ALL the medicines, vitamins, supplements, and herbal remedies you take. Some may increase the risk of problems during your procedure. Your doctor will tell you if you should stop taking any of them before the procedure and how soon to do it.
• If you take aspirin or some other blood thinner, ask your doctor if you should stop taking it before your procedure. Make sure that you understand exactly what your doctor wants you to do. These medicines increase the risk of bleeding.
• Don’t smoke, vape, or use other tobacco and nicotine products. These things increase the procedure’s risks. Your doctor may require that you quit for a period of time before and after the procedure. You have the best chance for a healthy recovery if you quit completely. If you need help quitting, talk to your doctor about quit programs and medicines.
• Make sure your doctor and the hospital have a copy of your advance directive. If you don’t have one, you may want to prepare one. It lets others know your health care wishes. It’s a good thing to have before any type of surgery or procedure.
• Be sure you have someone to take you home. Anesthesia and pain medicine will make it unsafe for you to drive or get home on your own.

What happens on the day of the procedure?

• Follow the instructions exactly about when to stop eating and drinking. If you don't, your procedure may be canceled. If your doctor told you to take your medicines on the day of the procedure, take them with only a sip of water.
• Follow your doctor's instructions about when to bathe or shower before your procedure. Do not apply lotions, perfumes, deodorants, or nail polish.
• Take off all jewelry and piercings. And take out contact lenses, if you wear them.

At the hospital or surgery center

• Bring a picture ID.
• The doctor may spray medicine on the back of your throat to numb it.
• You will lie on your left side.
• You will be kept comfortable and safe by your anesthesia provider. You may get medicine that relaxes you or puts you in a light sleep.
• The doctor will put the scope in your mouth and toward the back of your throat. If you are not asleep, the doctor will tell you when to swallow. This helps the scope move down your throat. You will be able to breathe normally. The doctor will move the scope down your esophagus into your stomach.
• If your doctor wants to take a sample of tissue for biopsy, they may use small surgical tools put into the scope. You will not feel a biopsy, if one is taken. The doctor can also use the tools to stop bleeding, if needed.
• The doctor will send puffs of air through the tube to see better. This may make you feel bloated, and you may feel cramps. This feeling doesn't last long.
• You may feel some bloating or cramping as the tube is moved. If you feel a lot of discomfort, you can alert the doctor with an agreed-upon signal or a tap on the arm.
• You will stay at the hospital or surgery center for 1 to 2 hours until the medicine you were given wears off.

When should you contact your doctor?

• You have questions or concerns.
• You don't understand how to prepare for your procedure.
• You become ill before the procedure (such as fever, flu, or a cold).
• You need to reschedule or have changed your mind about having the procedure.