“Do we have to do endoscopy?”
My dad has cirrhosis and doctor is asking permission to do endoscopy. He already did a lot of lab tests and ultrasound. If there is no stool bleeding anymore and the blood count is back to normal, should we still do endoscopy?
Male | 64 years old
Medications: Milk Thistle
Conditions: Cirrhosis
4 Answers
Hello, well for starters I cannot read any of the attached files, but I do appreciate the attempt. I think that the purpose is to look for any remaining varices that have not been treated and this is common to look again for this. Not knowing the case well, I tend to agree with the treating physician. Ask them why they want to re-scope him and if it makes sense why they want to do this then proceed.
I would need to know the reason that the doctor wants to do the endoscopy. It might be for a very good indication or maybe not so good an indication. In the case of cirrhosis, endoscopy is often recommended to screen for varices and assess risk for future bleeding, and in that case endoscopy is indicated even if the blood count is normal.
Yes, endoscopy is what decides the extent of the disease and there can still be bleeding.
Yes, 100%. The presumption given his cirrhosis is that he has esophageal varices. Abnormal veins in the lower part of the tube running from the throat to the stomach. Esophageal varices usually develop when blood flow to the liver is blocked. They often occur in people with advanced liver disease. When you identify them depending on the size you “band” then and or use specific medications to help decrease the pressure in the system. Also, you want to identify other sources of blood loss such as gastric or duodenal uclers...
