If you have an upper endoscopy, as with any procedure, you will need to remain off of any blood thinners for 3 to 5 days prior to your procedure. Your physician will discuss this with you in greater detail prior to your procedure. Also, you must not eat o dink anything after midnight the night before, including medications - unless otherwise directed by your physician.

You must remain on a clear liquid diet all day the day before your procedure. You will be provided with a sample menu. There are a few different options available for laxative preparation. When you come to the office visit prior to scheduling your procedure, the physician and/or the nurse will discuss with you the different preparations to help find the one that will best suit you and your needs. While none of these are pleasant, having a clean colon is very necessary in order to have a good, complete exam. If you are given a split-dose preparation, it is very important to complete your preparation 2 hours before the scheduled time of your procedure.

Yes, you must have a driver for your procedure. You will be sedated for your procedure and therefore will be too sleepy or groggy to drive yourself home. It is also nice to have someone with you that will be available to speak with your physician after the procedure for any special instructions. You will remain groggy for 4 to 6 hours after our procedures, so we recommend that you do not plan anything for that day.

An upper endoscopy will take approximately 15 to 20 minutes. A colonoscopy will take approximately 20 to 35 minutes. However, plan to be at the hospital for a total of 2 to 3 hours for pre-procedure preparation and recovery.

You may eat and take all medications as soon as you arrive home from your procedure, unless otherwise instructed by your physician.

Immediately following your procedure, your physician will have a brief discussion with you or your family representative about the findings during the procedure. If biopsies are taken, those results can take 3 to 5 days before your physician receives them for interpretation. If you are not scheduled a follow-up office visit before you leave the hospital, your physician will either send you a letter in the mail or call you with the results.

Colon cancer is the 3rd most common cancer diagnosed in the U.S. It is the 2nd leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. Colon caner is a malignant tumor involving the colon or large intestine. Rectal cancer is a malignant tumor involving the lowest portion of the colon, near the anus.

There may be no symptoms at all! If symptoms do occur, they generally include bleeding, abdominal pain, change in bowel habits with new onset constipation or diarrhea, unexplained weight loss or bloating. If you wait until symptoms occur, it may be too late. Discuss with your primary physician or gastroenterologist about your appropriate time to get screened.

Yes. Colon cancer is preventable! Colonoscopy accomplishes this by detecting and removing polyps, and detecting early cancers. Recent data show that both the number of new cases of colon cancer (incidence) and deaths from the disease are decreased when colonoscopy is performed according to established guidelines.