An endoscope is a piece of healthcare equipment used to perform an endoscopy, a minimally invasive procedure in which a flexible tube with a light and a camera is inserted into the patient’s body via a natural opening (such as the mouth) in order to examine a hollow organ or body cavity. Endoscopes are commonly used to examine the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, intestines (large and small), rectum, respiratory system and female reproductive organs.
Sometimes, the endoscope includes an accessory that allows for additional medical devices to be attached to the tube, often for the purpose of manipulating or removing an object from within the organ or cavity being examined. A recent news story that first appeared on a blog involved the use of an endoscope with such an accessory being used to help save a dog that swallowed a fish hook.
A Typical Endoscope
The dog swallowed the hook just a few short hours before the offending piece of sharpened metal was removed. Rather than attempt to pull it out (which could have killed or severely injured the animal), the owner instead cut the line to which it was attached and brought the god to a 24-hour emergency veterinary clinic immediately.
Upon arrival, the vet gave the dog an x-ray to confirm the location of the hook. Sure enough, as luck would have it the hook was still in the animal’s stomach, and had not begun to pass through his intestines.
The vet determined that an emergency endoscopy was the best course of action for removing the hook. She inserted the elongated medical equipment device down the animal’s throat, and continued until the light and camera had reached his stomach. Once inside, she was able to pinpoint exactly where the hook was and determine the position it was in. The endoscope she used had an accessory on the end of it that enabled her to grasp the hook with the device. From that point, she was able to remove the hook while causing minimal harm to the dog’s stomach, duodenum, throat or esophagus.
While this story generated quite a few headlines, the fact is that most endoscopies are routine and uneventful. More often than not, they are used for diagnostic purposes rather than emergency life-saving procedures. Therefore, the primary purpose of an endoscope is to aid physicians in making diagnoses.
