When is it needed?
Whether to have an endoscopy should be a cooperative decision made by you, your family, and your family physician. Your doctor may refer you to a specialist for a thorough evaluation to determine if you could benefit from this procedure.
Upper endoscopy can be used to determine the cause of:
- Abdominal pain
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Swallowing difficulties
- Gastric reflux
- Unexplained weight loss
- Anemia
- Bleeding in the upper GI tract
Upper endoscopy can detect:
- Ulcers
- Abnormal growths
- Precancerous conditions
- Bowel obstruction
- Inflammation
- Hiatal hernia
Upper endoscopy can be used to remove stuck objects, including food. It also can be used to biopsy tissue in the upper GI tract. During a biopsy, a small piece of tissue is removed for later examination with a microscope. It is more accurate than X-rays for detecting abnormal growths, such as cancer, and for examining the inside of the upper digestive system.
You have options. Evidence suggests that, depending on your condition or injury, alternative treatments such as medication, weight loss, and modified physical activity, can work just as well as surgery. See Alternative Treatments for more information.
Resources
Please visit these resources for more information:
Upper Endoscopy, 2012, Mayo Clinic.
Digestive Problems and Upper Endoscopy, 2010, WebMD.
Upper GI Endoscopy. NIH Publication No. 09–4333, May 2009, National Digestive Disease Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC).
We're sorry, this information is not available in . Please use the dropdown at the top of the page if you would like to view information for another state.
Questions?
If you can't find an answer, please feel free to contact our Customer Service Customer Service Customer Service
Questions?
If you can't find an answer, please feel free to contact our Customer Service
Employer web tools
Benefit Tracker
Check benefits, eligibility, incentive and utilization
Rate finder is now in the Producer Dashboard
Log in with your current username and password to create quotes for groups up to 50.
Producer DashboardLog in
Hello.
We have exciting news to share. ODS is changing its name to Moda Health.
Moda comes from the latin term "modus" and means "a way". We picked it because that's what we are here to do: help our communities find a way to better health.
Together, we can be more, be better.
Please select the state you live in, or the state where your employer is headquartered, so we can tailor your experience:
Hello.
Please select the state you live in, or the state where your employer is headquartered, so we can tailor your experience:
Changing your location to Oregon
You can return to your previous location in the site header.