Dr Tash Private Gastroenterologist
Consultation
Your initial consultation will consist of a 30-minute appointment, so that Dr Tash can take a detailed history and carefully review your symptoms.
A management plan will then be agreed with you which may require dietary advice, medication and, or further investigations, such as blood tests, scans and/or an endoscopy.
A detailed letter following this consultation will be sent to your GP and an encrypted copy emailed to you, via Egress, for your records.
A follow up consultation will be made to discuss your results and monitor any treatment given.
Gastroscopy
The reason for performing a gastroscopy includes the investigation of swallowing problems (dysphagia), heartburn and reflux, vomiting, upper abdominal pain and anaemia.
A gastroscopy is a test to look down your food pipe (oesophagus) into your stomach and the first and second part of your duodenum (exit from the stomach); this is known as the upper part of your digestive system.
A gastroscope is a long, thin and flexible tube with a small camera at the end; there is a ‘working channel’ to allow biopsies to be taken, if required. It is gently passed into your mouth, down your food pipe, into your stomach.
This is done either with local anaesthetic throat spray alone or combined with sedation to relax you, whichever you feel more comfortable with. The examination is done as a day case.
Flexible sigmoidoscopy
The reason for performing a flexible sigmoidoscopy includes further investigating bleeding from your back passage, diarrhoea and, or constipation. A flexible sigmoidoscopy is a test to examine your rectum, sigmoid and descending colon; the left side of your large bowel.
A sigmoidoscope is a long, thin, flexible tube with a small camera at the end; there is a ‘working channel’ to allow biopsies and/or polyps (skin tags) to be taken or removed, if required. A laxative would need to be administered beforehand (an enema) and can be performed with or without Entonox (laughing gas) and/or sedation or analgesia given through the vein.
This examination can help diagnose inflammatory bowel disease such as Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn’s Disease. The examination is done as a day case.
Colonoscopy
The reason for performing a colonoscopy includes persistent diarrhoea, constipation, rectal bleeding with altered blood, weight loss, abdominal pain and/or anaemia. A colonoscopy is a test to examine the entire large bowel (colon); rectum (back passage) to the caecum.
A colonoscope is a long, thin, flexible tube with a small camera at the end; there is a ‘working channel’ to allow biopsies and/or polyps (skin tags) to be taken or removed, if required. A potent laxative would need to be drunk beforehand (bowel preparation) and can be performed with or without sedation and/or analgesia given through the vein.
This examination can help diagnose inflammatory bowel disease such as Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn’s Disease and polyps and is performed as a day case.
ERCP
The reason for performing an ERCP (Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography) includes obstructive jaundice caused by a bile duct stone or cancer, or from compression of the bile duct from a pancreatic mass.
A duodenoscope is used to perform an ERCP and is a thin flexible tube with a side viewing camera which allows examination of the bile duct and removal of stones, biopsies and/or stenting (a small plastic or metal tube to open up the [obstructed] duct to allow bile to flow).
This therapeutic examination is normally performed as a day case although occasionally a hospital admission is required. It is always performed with intravenous sedation and analgesia.