Diagnostic Procedures

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• QWhat is an endoscopy?

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  A Discovery Health answered

  An endoscopy is a test used to evaluate the extent of damage to the tissue in the esophagus. During the test, a tube slides down the throat. Too much damage puts you at risk for a precancerous condition called Barrett's esophagus and for esophageal cancer. Depending on the damage, a doctor might recommend surgery to reinforce the esophageal sphincter, a valve that, when faulty, causes stomach acid to back into the esophagus.

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• QWhat should I expect after a thoracentesis?

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  A Aurora Health Care answered

  After a thoracentesis -- a procedure in which fluid is taken from the chest cavity to relieve pressure on the diaphragm to help you breathe easier -- your blood pressure, pulse, and respirations will be taken. A dressing will be applied to the puncture area. You will be observed for a short period of time depending on your doctor's orders. You will be sent for a chest x-ray.
  
  You may feel fatigued after the procedure, so rest at home. You may eat and drink as usual unless given other instructions. If you have questions or concerns, call your doctor or the clinic where the procedure was done.
• QWhat are the pitfalls of capsule endoscopy?

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  A Dr. Mehmet Oz, MD , Cardiology (Cardiovascular Disease), answered

  Unfortunately capsule endoscopy can miss a lot and it doesn't have the accuracy of a doctor-guided colonoscopy, where the doctor can manipulate the device to get sight of hard-to-reach corners. Bowel prep is required and critical to finding masses, and a standard colonoscopy will be required to remove any found polyps.

• QWhich endoscopy procedures are used to visualize the colon?

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  A Dr. Mehmet Oz, MD , Cardiology (Cardiovascular Disease), answered

  Doctors often rely on an endoscope to visualize the inside of the body. A long flexible tube fixed with a tiny fiber optic camera is threaded into an opening to illuminate and magnify the tissue while it is displayed on a computer screen. There are two procedures that visualize the colon using endoscopes, a colonoscopy and a sigmoidoscopy.

• QWhat is the difference between an endoscopy and a capsule endoscopy?

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  A Dr. Michael Albertson, MD , Gastroenterology, answered on behalf of UCLA Health

  The difference between an endoscopy and a capsule endoscopy is the way in which each procedure is performed. In an endoscopy, a long thin tube with a camera on the end is passed into the body and produces images of the intestines on a monitor. The endoscope can also be used to perform a biopsy if necessary.
   
  In a capsule endoscopy, you swallow a pill containing a miniature camera and then wear a special vest throughout the day that records images from the camera. If a biopsy is needed, however, it must be done in a separate procedure.
• QWhat is an (open) excisional biopsy?

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  A Johns Hopkins Medicine answered

  In an (open) excisional biopsy, your doctor makes an incision in the breast and removes tissue from the suspicious area. The tissue sample is then sent to a pathologist for a diagnosis.
• QWhat problems can lymph node removal cause?

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  A Dr. Preya Ananthakrishnan, MD , Surgery, answered on behalf of Columbia University Department of Surgery

  Removal of lymph nodes can result in swelling of the arm on that side, or lymphedema. Exercises can help minimize the problem. It is also helpful to avoid wearing a watch or bracelet, or carrying a handbag on that arm.
• QHow is a sentinel lymph node biopsy performed?

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  A NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital answered

  The sentinel node is thought to be the first lymph nodes or group of lymph nodes in your armpit that receives lymph fluid from the area where the cancer is located in the breast. Your surgeon may pinpoint the located of the sentinel lymph nodes in two ways:
  
  - injecting a harmless radioactive substance into your breast where the tumor is before the surgical procedure.
  - injection of a small amount of blue vegetable dye into your breast where the tumor is during the surgical procedure.
  
  The surgeon then removes the sentinel lymph nodes that have become highlighted with the blue dye or radioactive fluid. The lymph nodes are sent to the pathology room for immediate examination under a microscope while you are still in the operating room. If the sentinel node is free of cancer cells, your surgery is complete. If cancer cells are detected, your surgeon will remove several more lymph nodes.
  
  Sometimes, additional examination of breast tissue or sentinel lymph nodes reveals the presence of cancer cells after your surgery. In this situation, your surgeon may recommend more surgery to remove more lymph nodes for analysis.

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• QWhat is pulse oximetry?

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  A SecondsCount.org answered

  A pulse oximetry screen is a noninvasive (and painless) test performed on all newborn babies to determine the level of oxygen in their blood. This test uses rays of light of different wavelengths to measure the percent of hemoglobin (the part of blood that carries oxygen) that is filled with oxygen. Normally, a newborn baby should have an oxygen saturation level that is greater than 95%.
  
  Screening using pulse oximetry can detect congenital heart disease that may otherwise go undetected for a while. There are some congenital heart defects that cause a newborn baby to have lower oxygen saturation in the blood after birth. It often can be difficult to determine if a baby has cyanosis (bluish discoloration of the skin due to poor oxygen content of the blood) just by looking at him or her after birth.

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• QWhat is interventional endoscopy?

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  A UCLA Health answered

  At major medical centers, an increasing number of gastrointestinal illnesses are being diagnosed and treated through the nonsurgical approach known as interventional endoscopy. “Many procedures that were once the domain of the surgeon can now be done in a more minimally invasive way,” says V. Raman Muthusamy, M.D., associate clinical professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and director of interventional endoscopy.
  
  An endoscope is a long fiber-optic tube with a camera and a light at its tip, along with a small channel through which gastroenterologists pass instruments into the gut to perform a variety of treatments while viewing images on a monitor. “Through the endoscope, we can now perform biopsies, cut things, cauterize and even seal up small holes,” explains Dr. Muthusamy.