Endoscope for the diagnosis of Lungworms.
Endoscopy is a diagnostic technique that enables your veterinarian to see the internal structure of organs. Endoscopes are long thin fiber optic tubes with a tiny but high resolution camera on the end. These tubes have controls that allow for the direction of the tip of the tube in any directions as well as an operating channel for performing surgery or collecting biopsies. Endoscopes for the stomach are called gastroscopes and endoscopes for the colon are called colonscopes. There are also endoscopes for the lungs that are called bronchoscopes. Safari has all types of endoscopes for all size of pets and the experience to use them to make an accurate diagnosis for your pet. Endoscopy is usually recommended for pets that have chronic or long standing diarrhea, vomiting, coughing or nasal discharge.
Today’s endoscopes are much more sophisticated that those of the past. Today’s scopes have the camera at the end of the scope and the fiberoptics are just used to convey light to the area to be viewed. These scopes have computer controlled light intensity and image capture. They are made in various lengths and diameters for the different organ systems and species that we examine.
Many diseases can be diagnosed with endoscopes that cannot be diagnosed any other way.
For example, this case of lungworms would have been difficult to diagnose without the endoscope. The pet had a chronic cough which led the doctors to shoot an x-ray which showed nodules in the trachea.
These nodules could have been cancerous so endoscopy was used to evaluate the nodules and to collect a biopsy.
There were worms in the nodules that were escaping as the endoscopy was being recorded. A biopsy and capture of the worms revealed the true diagnosis.