Endoscopy is an outpatient procedure that uses a flexible piece of equipment called an endoscope to transmit images of a patient’s gastrointestinal tract or lungs to a video screen. This allows the doctor to examine the patient’s digestive or respiratory system and take small tissue samples, known as biopsies.
Depending on the patient’s condition and tests needed, endoscopies to view the small intestine can also be offered in pill form. The PillCam™ is available at Homestead Hospital. The vitamin-size capsule contains a tiny camera that can take more than 50,000 pictures as it passes through the digestive tract. After swallowing the PillCam™ capsule, patients are outfitted with a small data recorder that captures the images from the camera.
Patients can leave the hospital and resume normal activities, returning to the hospital eight hours later to have nurses remove the monitoring device, connect it to a computer and download the images taken while the pill traveled through the intestinal tract.
Ask your doctor if you are eligible for the pill endoscopy.
For more information about endoscopy at Homestead Hospital, call 786-243-8503.