During a gastroscopy your endoscopist passes a long flexible tube containing a camera and a light through your mouth, over the back of your tongue, down your oesophagus (gullet). The oesophagus is a hollow muscular tube that takes food from the mouth down to the stomach. During this procedure, the endoscopist places small rubber bands onto enlarged veins in the oesophagus known as varices. Your endoscopist may want to look further into your stomach and duodenum (first part of small bowel) to view the lining of these organs.
Having an oesophageal banding of varices during a gastroscopy
