A gastroscopy is a procedure where a thin, flexible tube called an endoscope is used to look inside the oesophagus (gullet), stomach and first part of the small intestine (duodenum). It’s also sometimes referred to as an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. The endoscope has a light and a camera at one end.

A colonoscopy is a medical procedure that lets your doctor look inside your colon and rectum for problems such as ulcers, inflammation, bleeding, polyps and tumors. A colonoscope is the tool used to perform a colonoscopy. It is a thin, flexible tube with a light and video camera on the end. Patients who receive conscious sedation are usually able to speak and respond to verbal cues throughout the procedure.

During the colonoscopy, a polyp may be found. Polyps are abnormal growths of tissue which vary in size from a tiny dot to several inches. If your doctor feels that removal of the polyp is necessary, he will pass a wire loop (snare) through the scope and remove the polyp from the bowel wall by means of an electric current. You should feel no pain during removal of the polyp. Polyps are usually removed because they can cause rectal bleeding or may contain cancer. Although the majority of polyps are benign (noncancerous), a small percentage may contain an area of cancer in them or may develop into cancer. Removal of colonic polyps, therefore, is an important means of prevention and cure of colon cancer

Flexible sigmoidoscopy is generally the preferred procedure. A sigmoidoscopy is similar to, but not the same as, a colonoscopy. A sigmoidoscopy only examines up to the sigmoid, the most distal part of the colon, while colonoscopy examines the whole large bowel.