Gastroenterology Procedures

This procedure involves the use of a small, ingestible capsule called PillCam™ which contains a tiny video camera designed to help physicians diagnose a range of suspected conditions of the small intestine. Once the capsule is swallowed, it transmits images to a recording device strapped to your waist.

The capsule gradually makes its way through the 20-plus feet of your small intestine, where it pinpoints the causes of your gastrointestinal symptoms. The capsule takes two images per second of the lower intestine between the stomach and colon.

The doctor then transfers the data from the recording device to a computer for review. The images are clear enough to detect abnormalities as small as one-tenth of a millimeter in size. The capsule is expelled naturally and is a disposable, onetime-use product.

A colonoscopy is an outpatient procedure that uses a scope to view the inside lining of the entire colon. The scope is a long, thin tube with a light and a viewing instrument designed to send images to a monitor.

The scope allows your GI doctor to examine the inside of your colon for cancer, polyps, and digestive or inflammatory disease. This is helpful in determining the cause of any bleeding, pain, or changes in bowel habits.

The scope is also used to take photographs, obtain tissue samples for biopsy, surgically remove polyps, or perform specialized laser surgeries.

Before the colonoscopy, you will need to be on a clear liquid diet and take a bowel prep in order to clean out your intestines for the procedure.

An upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy – also known as an esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) or a gastroscopy – is an outpatient procedure that uses an endoscope (a long, thin tube with a light) to view the esophagus, stomach, and upper duodenum (the first part of the small intestine) and send images to a monitor.

This procedure allows your GI doctor to examine the inside of your upper gastrointestinal tract for any bleeding, tumors, polyps, diseases, and other abnormal conditions. The endoscope can also take tissue samples for biopsy and treat bleeding.

The night before your upper GI endoscopy, you cannot eat or drink after midnight. During the procedure, you’ll be sedated, so you won’t feel anything. However, you will need someone to drive you home, as you cannot drive for 24 hours after the procedure.

If your esophagus becomes blocked, your doctor will perform an EGD with dilation. Dilation involves the passage of a tapered catheter or balloon that is used to stretch the narrowed or blocked portion of your esophagus or opening of the stomach into the duodenum.

During EGD dilation, a deflated balloon is placed through the endoscope and across the blockage. When inflated, the balloon stretches and opens the blockage, allowing food to once again pass through your esophagus.

This is a simple and quick outpatient procedure. The night before, you cannot eat or drink after midnight. During the procedure, you’ll be sedated and won’t feel anything. After the procedure, you will need someone to drive you home, as you cannot drive for 24 hours.

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) refers to a test that diagnoses and treats disorders of the liver, bile ducts, and pancreas.

During this outpatient procedure, an endoscope (a small, thin tube with a video camera) is passed through your mouth and guided down the food pipe. While using a special monitor, your doctor guides a small catheter through the opening for your liver and pancreas and injects a dye to take X-rays.

At the same time, the endoscope can also treat some disorders, which removes the need for major abdominal surgery. For example, stones found in the bile duct can be removed, narrowed strictures can be dilated, and tumors can be biopsied and bypassed with a stent to relieve obstructions.
ERCP only takes 30 to 90 minutes to perform, for which you will be sedated with an IV.

A flexible sigmoidoscopy is a procedure that uses a sigmoidoscope (a thin tube about 20 inches long) to view the inside lining of the rectum and lower section of the colon.

The sigmoidoscope has a light and a viewing instrument that sends images to an eyepiece or a video monitor. It allows your doctor to examine the inside of your rectum and lower colon for cancer and polyps. A sigmoidoscope can also help determine the cause of bleeding, pain, bowel obstruction, or changes in bowel habits. It can also be used to take photographs and/or obtain tissue samples for examination.

The night before your sigmoidoscopy, you cannot eat or drink after midnight, and you will receive an enema on the day of procedure. You will be sedated during the procedure, so you won’t feel anything. However, you will need someone to drive you home, and you cannot drive yourself for 24 hours after the procedure.

A serious complication of GERD that is associated with an increased risk of developing esophageal cancer is Barret’s Esophagus. This condition occurs when the tissue lining the esophagus – the tube that carries food from your mouth to your stomach – changes to tissue that resembles the lining of the intestine.

Our GI doctors at Advanced Gastroenterology and Surgery Associates can treat Barrett's Esophagus with a procedure called HALO radiofrequency ablation. The HALO device removes diseased esophageal lining that may develop into esophageal cancer if the condition is left untreated.

During the HALO ablation procedure, an endoscope equipped with an electrode is inserted through a catheter into your esophagus. The electrode generates heat that burns the microscopic layer of the esophagus lining (called Barrett’s tissue), thereby killing precancerous and cancerous cells. In about a month, healthy tissue will regenerate in the esophageal lining.