You will receive instructions and a slip to the blood draw lab in the mail before your ECRP. Please bring this slip to the blood lab, located in special testing on the first floor, prior to coming to the Gregory Endoscopy Centre.
After you check in, one of our nurses will meet with you to review your medical conditions and medications. An IV line will be placed in a vein in your arm and you may receive an antibiotic before your procedure. You will proceed to the procedure room, where your blood pressure, pulse and oxygen level will be carefully monitored. A sedative also will be administered by an anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist through your IV, which will put you to sleep.
The back of your throat may be sprayed with a local anesthetic. The endoscope is passed down your throat into your esophagus (the swallowing tube), and through the stomach into your duodenum (part of small intestine). The contrast material (dye) will be used to see your bile ducts and possibly a pancreatic duct. The test itself usually takes less than an hour. After the test, you will rest in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) until the effects of the medicine wear off.
You will not be able to drive following the procedure, so plan on having someone with you to take you home. Before leaving, our staff will speak with you about the preliminary results of your test and will let you know when you can go back to eating your regular diet.