Is Endoscopy Uncomfortable?

Not at all. Modern instruments are very thin and flexible and designed with patient comfort in mind. Patients undergoing gastroscopy and colonoscopy are also offered local anaesthesia by throat spray of Lignocaine, as well as gentle sedation with intravenous injections of sedatives and analgesics, or a mild anaesthetic agent, carefully titrated to each individual patient’s comfort. Patients are generally very comfortable throughout their procedures and usually awaken without any memory of having gone through them.

The sedation used in endoscopy is very gentle (unlike the general anaesthesia used in surgery), and there are minimal 'hangover' symptoms after awakening. In fact, most patients undergo endoscopy as day-cases and are in the Endoscopy Suite or Day Ward for only a few hours at most. Many patients who have morning procedures can, if they wish, return to work by the afternoon. Only in more complex cases will patients need to remain in hospital for a longer period for observation or further treatment.