Ask a doctor on the topic of Internal medicine

Sore throat after an esophagus examination.

January 18, 2014 | 20,00 EUR | answered by Dr. med. Kathrin Hamann

Good day,

Eleven days ago, I asked Dr. Höllering about an upcoming gastroscopy. I have now had the procedure, but unfortunately I have been experiencing new problems since then.

Since the gastroscopy, I have been experiencing severe swallowing pain behind my sternum. It occurs when food goes down, but also about 4-5 seconds after swallowing (this pain feels like pressure and comes in waves). This pain that occurs a few seconds after swallowing even happens when I only swallow saliva.

On the paper I had to sign before the procedure, there was no mention of potential pain in the esophagus after swallowing.

It has been two and a half days since the procedure, which is 60 hours. My question is, is this a common occurrence and within the normal range, or do I need to undergo a second gastroscopy because something went wrong during the first one? It's worth mentioning that a biopsy was taken during the procedure.

Thank you in advance for your response.

Dr. med. Kathrin Hamann

Good evening, I am happy to help you further.

I would like to reassure you that these complaints can indeed be normal after an endoscopy. Samples are taken from the stomach to examine the mucous membrane and possible bacterial contamination. No sample will be taken from the esophagus as the esophageal wall is very thin.

Your current described complaints are most likely irritation in the throat area, which also explains the difficulty in swallowing saliva.

Please do not worry.

Give your body a few days to recover from the procedure.

Do you have any questions about this? I am happy to help you further.

Sincerely yours,
Dr. K. Hamann