EUS upper and lower
Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) uses soundwaves to take pictures of your upper and lower gastrointestinal tract. Your physician will perform either an upper or lower EUS, depending in your health history and symptoms. A EUS of the upper GI tract will look at the esophagus, stomach and duodenum; a EUS of the lower GI tract will look at your colon and rectum. EUS is also used to study other organs that are near the gastrointestinal tract, including the lungs, liver, gall bladder and pancreas. Your physician will use a thin, flexible tube called an endoscope that has a built‐in miniature ultrasound probe and will pass the endoscope through your mouth or anus to the area to be examined. Your physician then will use the ultrasound to make sound waves to create visual images of the digestive tract. This procedure will also take place in a hospital setting.
Why do I need an endoscopic ultrasound?
Your gastroenterologist can use EUS to diagnose certain conditions that may cause abdominal pain or abnormal weight loss like gallstones, cholecystitis or IBD. EUS is also used to evaluate known abnormalities, including lumps or lesions, which were detected at a prior endoscopy or x-ray test, drain fluid from cysts, determine and assess how advanced cancer is and assess damage to tissue. EUS is also one of the most common procedures used to diagnose pancreatitis, pancreatic cysts and pancreatic cancer. EUS may be able to find small masses or tumors that were not found on a previous CT or MRI scans. If your physician wants a take a tissue sample, they may use the ultrasound images to guide a thin needle (called fine needle aspiration) through the endoscope and take biopsies.
Image courtesy of Mayo Clinic
References
Mayo Clinic. 2022. Endoscopic Ultrasound. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/endoscopic-ultrasound/about/pac-20385171
Cleveland Clinic. 2022. Endoscopic Ultrasound. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diagnostics/12025-endoscopic-ultrasound
