MEDICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY
Gastroenterology is an area of medicine that focuses on the health of the digestive system or the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Gastroenterologists can treat everything from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) to hepatitis C. Here’s a look at what our specialists here do and when you should consider seeing one.
These specialists primarily diagnose and treat GI diseases in both men and women.
They perform endoscopic procedures, in which they use specialized instruments to view the GI tract and make a diagnosis. They don’t perform surgery. In some cases, they may work closely with a GI surgeon.
Gastroenterologists are specialized to treat any part of this system.
Some areas of emphasis in our Medical Gastroenterology department are:
- Hepatology, which focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the liver, gallbladder, biliary tree, and pancreas
- pancreatic disease
- transplantation
- inflammatory bowel disease, or chronic inflammation of your digestive tract
- gastrointestinal cancer
- endoscopic surveillance
- reflux esophagitis, which is commonly due to gastroesophageal reflux disease
What procedures do gastroenterologists perform in our hospital?
These specialists perform a range of nonsurgical procedures. This includes:
- Endoscopic ultrasounds to examine the upper and lower GI tract, as well as other internal organs
- Colonoscopies to detect colon cancer or colon polyps
- Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography to identify gallstones, tumours, or scar tissue in the bile duct area
- Sigmoidoscopies to evaluate blood loss or pain in the bowel
- Liver biopsies to assess inflammation and fibrosis
- Capsule endoscopies to examine the small intestine
- Double balloon enteroscopy to examine the small intestine
Our hospital has the benefit of the latest tools of diagnosis with experts attending on the gastroenterological issues to help patients have a smooth sail from diagnosis through procedures and healing that leads to healthy living.