I have recently been diagnosed with Barretts esophagus. How often should I have an upper endoscopy with biopsy (endoscopic biopsy surveillance)?
The American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) guidelines for the management of Barrett’s esophagus suggest that the frequency of patient endoscopies should be based on the histologic readings of their biopsies (tissue analysis under the microscope). Based on the most current ACG guidelines, for patients who have a diagnosis of negative for dysplasia, endoscopy with biopsy should be performed every 3 years. For those who have a diagnosis of stable low-grade dysplasia (an abnormal growth pattern of the Barrett’s cells) confirmed by two procedures, endoscopy should be performed yearly. For patients who have a diagnosis of high-grade dysplasia (a severe abnormality in the growth pattern of the Barrett’s cells) and who do not get their esophagus surgically removed, endoscopy with biopsy should be repeated to check for cancer that may have been missed with the first endoscopy. If no cancer is detected, then surveillance should be performed every 3 months. Ablation therapy (destruction of th
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