Possible complications
Oesophagoscopy is very safe. You may have a slightly sore throat afterwards. Very rarely, there is a risk that the metal tubes may chip your teeth. Your surgeon uses a gum guard to help prevent this happening.
If your surgeon needs to take a biopsy during the oesophagoscopy, or stretch the gullet, there is a very small risk of a tear in the lining of the gullet. This sometimes causes a leak through the wall of the gullet. If this happens, you will need to stay in hospital and not eat or drink anything. You will then be fed with either a small tube through your nose into your stomach, or through a drip into a vein in your arm. This allows you to get special liquid food, while the leak in the wall of the gullet heals up. This may take several days.
When will I know what happened?
Your surgeon will usually be able to tell you what was found, and what they did to help you, on the same day as your operation. If any biopsies were taken, these normally take a few days to process in a laboratory. Your surgeon will arrange to see you again for your results.