Imagine being able to look directly inside your dog’s stomach, examine the lining of their oesophagus or explore their airways without making a large surgical incision. That is exactly what endoscopy in veterinary medicine allows us to do.
At Cottage Vet Clinic, we believe that reaching an accurate diagnosis is one of the most important parts of treating disease. Sometimes blood tests, X-rays and ultrasound provide all the answers we need. In other cases, however, we need to actually see what is happening inside the body.
That is where endoscopy becomes an incredibly useful diagnostic tool.
What Is Endoscopy?
Endoscopy involves passing a long, flexible instrument called an endoscope into the body. At its tip is a tiny camera and light source that allows the veterinarian to examine internal structures on a screen in real time.
Depending on the area being investigated, an endoscope can be passed through the mouth, airways or rectum, meaning we can often examine areas that would otherwise require surgery to access.
Small instruments can also be passed through the endoscope, allowing us to take biopsies or even retrieve certain foreign objects.
Gastroscopy: Looking Inside the Stomach
One of the most common uses for endoscopy in veterinary medicine is investigating gastrointestinal disease.
A gastroscope is passed through the mouth, down the oesophagus and into the stomach and upper small intestine.
This allows us to look for abnormalities including:
- Oesophageal inflammation
- Oesophageal strictures
- Stomach ulcers
- Gastritis
- Tumours
- Foreign bodies
- Abnormalities of the stomach lining
- Some causes of chronic vomiting
We can also take tiny biopsies of the stomach and intestinal lining. These samples are sent to a pathologist and can help diagnose conditions that cannot always be identified on ultrasound or blood tests alone.
Removing Foreign Bodies Without Surgery
Dogs have an extraordinary ability to swallow things they shouldn’t.
Balls, pieces of toys, socks, bones, stones and other household objects can become lodged in the oesophagus or stomach.
Traditionally, many of these patients required surgery.
Today, endoscopy in veterinary medicine means that some foreign bodies can be grasped and removed through the mouth without opening the chest or abdomen.
This is particularly valuable for objects lodged in the oesophagus, where surgery can be considerably more invasive.
Endoscopic removal isn’t appropriate for every foreign body. Its size, shape, location and how long it has been present all influence the safest approach. But when endoscopic retrieval is possible, recovery is generally much faster than after major surgery.
Investigating the Airways
Endoscopy isn’t only useful for digestive problems.
Bronchoscopy allows us to examine the trachea and lower airways.
A veterinarian may recommend bronchoscopy for dogs or cats experiencing:
- Chronic coughing
- Unexplained breathing problems
- Recurrent pneumonia
- Suspected airway foreign bodies
- Abnormal changes on chest X-rays
- Suspected inflammatory airway disease
During the procedure we can examine the airway directly and collect samples for laboratory testing.
This can provide crucial information when ordinary diagnostic tests haven’t revealed the cause of a persistent cough.
Rhinoscopy: Investigating the Nose
Chronic nasal discharge can be surprisingly difficult to diagnose.
Possible causes include infection, fungal disease, foreign material such as grass seeds, inflammatory disease and tumours.
Rhinoscopy uses an endoscope to examine the nasal passages.
For a dog with persistent one-sided nasal discharge, sneezing or unexplained nosebleeds, advanced imaging such as CT followed by rhinoscopy may provide the answers we need.
Colonoscopy
Endoscopy can also be performed from the other end of the digestive tract.
A colonoscopy allows examination of the rectum, colon and portions of the lower gastrointestinal tract.
It may be recommended for pets with chronic diarrhoea, blood or mucus in their stools, persistent straining or suspected large intestinal disease.
Biopsies can once again be collected without requiring abdominal surgery.
Does My Pet Need an Anaesthetic?
Yes.
Although endoscopy in people can sometimes be performed under sedation, animals don’t understand that they need to remain completely still while an instrument is passed into their body.
Veterinary endoscopy is therefore generally performed under general anaesthesia.
This protects your pet’s airway, prevents distress and allows the veterinarian to perform a thorough examination safely.
Before the procedure, your pet will be assessed and blood tests may be recommended depending on their age and medical condition.
Endoscopy Doesn’t Replace Every Other Test
It is important to understand that endoscopy is not necessarily the first diagnostic test we perform.
Blood tests, X-rays, ultrasound, CT and MRI all provide different types of information.
For example, an endoscope allows us to see the surface of the stomach lining beautifully, while ultrasound allows us to assess the entire thickness of the stomach wall and surrounding organs.
Often these diagnostic tools complement one another.
The art of veterinary medicine lies in selecting the test that is most likely to answer the particular question we are asking.
The Advantage of Seeing the Problem
One of the greatest advantages of endoscopy in veterinary medicine is simple: sometimes there is no substitute for actually seeing what is going on.
Instead of repeatedly treating symptoms such as vomiting, coughing or diarrhoea without knowing the underlying cause, endoscopy can allow us to obtain biopsies, retrieve foreign material and reach a definitive diagnosis.
And importantly, we can often do this without major surgery.
At Cottage Vet Clinic, our goal is always to choose the diagnostic approach that provides the most useful information while keeping procedures as safe and minimally invasive as possible.
If your pet has persistent vomiting, swallowing difficulties, chronic diarrhoea, recurrent respiratory problems or a suspected foreign body, contact Cottage Vet Clinic. Endoscopy or another form of advanced imaging may help us get to the bottom of the problem and choose the most appropriate treatment.
