Your doctor might recommend an endoscopic ultrasound examination to evaluate and diagnose the causes of your persistent abdominal pain or abnormal weight loss. It can also be used to determine the stages of cancer, to examine gallstones or liver tumours and to study other abnormal growths in the bile duct.
Doctors also use endoscopic ultrasound to evaluate diseases affecting the pancreas, such as chronic pancreatitis, and to determine the causes of bowel incontinence (loss of bowel control).
Endoscopic ultrasound is also used to study previously diagnosed lumps or lesions (damage). Your doctor can use endoscopic ultrasound to obtain tissue samples to examine these lumps and lesions in order to determine their origin before embarking on a suitable treatment for you.