Veterinary Endoscopy: What Is It, and Why Do Pets Need It?

While blood work and X-rays are helpful, sometimes more information is needed to know what’s going on inside your pet. 

Veterinary endoscopy is a tool that allows the vet to see what’s happening in the body without having to do surgery. 

Let’s explore pet endoscopy in more detail. 

What Is a Veterinary Endoscopy?

Endoscopy involves the use of a small camera to look inside your pet’s body. This procedure is considered minimally invasive, meaning your dog or cat does not need major surgery to see inside them. 

There are two types of endoscopies in veterinary medicine: flexible and rigid. 

• Flexible endoscopes are used to look inside the esophagus, stomach, small intestines, colon, urinary tract, and trachea. 

• Rigid endoscopes are used to look inside joints, reach organs inside the abdomen, or enter the nose, ear, or chest. 

While endoscopy is common in referral centers and many ERs, it is not commonly done in private practice. Your vet will likely send you somewhere else to have an endoscopy procedure done if it’s recommended. 

Endoscopy is always done with the pet under heavy sedation or anesthesia. This helps keep them safe while the camera is moving inside their body. 

How Does a Veterinary Endoscopy Work?

If your pet is scheduled for endoscopy, you will likely be told to fast them (not offer any food or water) after midnight the night before their procedure. 

Anesthesia will be used to ensure your pet is calm and still during the procedure. 

Depending on what part of their body is being scoped, they may or may not have a region shaved. For pets getting endoscopy of their upper or lower GI tract, the camera is put in through the mouth or rectum. Similarly, airways can be accessed from the mouth (down the windpipe) or nose. 

If their abdomen, chest, or joints are being checked, then they will have a part of their body shaved and prepped by scrubbing the skin clean before a small cut is made to allow the vet to put the scope inside. 

After the procedure is done, your pet will be awakened and allowed to return home. 

Why Would a Pet Need a Veterinary Endoscopy?

Pets may need a veterinary endoscopy for:  

• Removal of a foreign object that was eaten or inhaled 

• Diagnosis of cancer inside the body 

• Collection of a biopsy of an organ or mass to get more information 

• Finding benign polyps in the colon 

• Screen for ulcers or other signs of inflammation (swelling) or damage inside the GI tract 

• Diagnose strictures (narrowings) inside the esophagus 

• See parasites 

• Remove torn pieces of ligament/tendon and diagnose disease inside a joint 

• Look inside the airways for signs of collapse and collect cells through lavage to diagnose underlying causes of chronic cough/breathing issues 

• Minimally invasive spay/neuter 

• Remove bladder stones 

Side Effects and Risks of a Veterinary Endoscopy

Endoscopy generally carries fewer side effects than more extensive surgery. 

It is possible for a pet to have side effects following sedation. The most common side effect reported after sedation is GI distress (nausea and diarrhea). 

Some animals are slower to recover if they are sensitive to sedatives. This is more likely if your dog carries the MDR-1 gene that is common in Collies and a few other breeds. 

Consider testing for MDR-1 before scheduling elective sedation if possible. 

Additional side effects may include post-procedure infections, tissue irritation or injury from the scope, or bleeding at the site. 

Many of these side effects are dependent upon what type of endoscopy procedure was done. For example, retrieving a hard piece of bone from the stomach with an endoscope carries a higher risk of irritating the esophageal lining, whereas biopsyingthe liver carries a higher risk of bleeding after the procedure. 

Risks are generally considered low for endoscopy. 

Make sure you withhold food and water after midnight the night before a planned procedure, to reduce the chances of vomiting with sedation. 

Benefits of a Veterinary Endoscopy

The biggest benefit of veterinary endoscopy is that it is minimally invasive. 

In the case of a foreign body, where your pet ate something that they shouldn’t, the doctor can potentially remove the object with endoscopy without having to cut your dog or cat open. This leads to a dramatically shorter recovery period. Following endoscopy, your pet may just be groggy for one evening, then back to normal the next morning. 

Compare that 12-hour recovery to the recovery time following an abdominal exploratory surgery where a dog’s or cat’s stomach is opened. Following a gastrotomy (retrieval of a foreign body through the stomach), your pet will need a 10–14-day recovery period of rest and being on a bland diet until their stitches are removed. 

One study found that endoscopy is successful in the removal of gastric foreign bodies 88% of the time, with only a few that are too difficult to get safely. 

When collecting biopsies, the minimally invasive nature of endoscopy greatly benefits some pets. Endoscopy allows for a very small cut, while a much larger one is needed to access the tissue with the hands.  

Some locations (like inside the nose or ear canals) are not accessible for biopsy without an endoscope. 

Cost of a Veterinary Endoscopy

The cost of veterinary endoscopy can vary quite a bit, depending on the region you live in and what type of endoscopy procedure is being done. 

A quick foreign body retrieval may be significantly cheaper than using endoscopy to collect a biopsy from an internal organ. 

Costs can run anywhere from $800 to $3,000. 

If finances are limiting whether you can move forward with your pet’s procedure, consider exploring financing options. CareCredit is a good way to split up the cost of a visit over several months to a year with low to no interest. 

Other options include talking to your veterinarian about local not-for-profits that might have resources to help with the cost of veterinary care. 

Preparation for a Veterinary Endoscopy

For pets who are scheduled for an upcoming endoscopy procedure, your preparations will begin the night before. 

It is ideal that you withhold food and water for 12 hours before sedation for the procedure. Pick up food and water before midnight the night before and do not allow your pet to eat or drink the morning of their scheduled procedure. 

If your pet is on regular medication, talk to your vet about whether they would like them to have their morning dose before the appointment. 

This rule does not apply to dogs or cats who have just eaten something they shouldn’t. In this case, the quicker they can get in and have it taken out, the better the outcome. For these pets, bring them to the local emergency or specialty hospital as soon as you can. Removal of the foreign body is much easier when it is in the stomach than once it has moved into the intestines. 

Veterinary Endoscopy Post-Op Care and Recovery

After the endoscopy procedure, you will want your pet to have a comfortable place to rest while they recover. 

In some cases, like dogs who have had endoscopy of a joint (arthroscopy), cage rest may be recommended post-procedure. Consider a crate that is large enough for them to lie down comfortably, such as this Yaheetech crate. 

If they are not prone to tearing up or eating bedding, consider an orthopedic bed in their crate to provide more comfort. 

Some pets may have mild nausea or stomach upset after sedation or /anesthesia. Probiotics, like Purina FortiFlora or Nutramax Proviable, can be helpful for gut health. 

Bland diets, like Hill’s i/d or Royal Canin Gastrointestinal, may be helpful to rest the stomach for a few days after the procedure.

If a small cut was made to put the endoscope in or if a biopsy was taken, your vet may prescribe pain medications like carprofen or gabapentin. 

Recovery from endoscopy can be as short as 12 hours (like in the case of a foreign body retrieval) to 10 days (if an organ was biopsied). 

Alternatives to a Veterinary Endoscopy

The most common alternative to endoscopy is general surgery. 

This involves opening the area of concern surgically to see or fix the problem. This is more common in private practice, where endoscopes are not available.