This is an investigative procedure used to inspect and photograph the inside of the trachea and bronchioles, which are your air tubes. It is performed in patients demonstrating a wide variety of symptoms, such as: cough, wheezing, bleeding and sputum production and helps your doctor to determine the cause of these symptoms.

The procedure is performed by passing a soft flexible fiber-optic tube (called a bronchoscope) through either the nose or the mouth down into the trachea. Biopsies may be taken during the procedure. You will be sedated for the procedure. This is a outpatient procedure, which allows you to come into the hospital and go home on the same day. The scope carries with it only minor risks of bleeding, infection and some hoarseness of the voice, aside from the risks with sedation. Because you are given sedation, you must have a ride home. Please not that a taxi, UBER or public transit is not acceptable. 

Before Scope

• You must NOT EAT OR DRINK ANYTHING (including water) after midnight the night before your procedure
• Please consult your GP regarding instructions on when to stop taking your blood thinners.
• If you are on a J tube, please stop feeds before 4am
• If you take insulin, take 1/2 dose in the morning before 6am with a TINY bit of apple or orange juice
• If you take oral medication for diabetes, please skip your pill on the morning or your scope
• Please bring your Health Card with you
• A $50 charge will apply if you do not cancel within 24hrs of this procedure 

Your support person may wait in the Ambulatory Treatment Centre on the 4th floor Endoscopy Unit in the Medical Arts Building until after the procedure is over and the patient is out of the recovery room. The hospital times vary with each patient and nursing staff, however you can expect to be in the hospital for the majority of the day. You must have a friend of relative present to take you home in order to be discharged from the hospital. Mild discomfort may be experienced after the procedure and can usually be controlled by over-the-counter pain killers. 

Where?

All bronchoscopies are conducted at Southlake Regional Health Centre’s Medical Arts Building located at 581 Davis Drive. You will need to register at the Ambulatory Treatment Centre on the 4th floor of the MAB, an hour and a half before your scheduled operation