Gastroenterology

Gastroenterology is the branch of medicine that specializes in diagnosing and treating conditions of the digestive system including the stomach, gallbladder, small intestines, pancreas, and liver. A gastroenterologist focuses on diseases related to digestion and food absorption.

If you're experiencing persistent gastrointestinal symptoms like heartburn or acid reflux that aren't responding to over-the-counter medications and are impacting your quality of life, it may be time to consider gastroenterology surgery. Gastroenterologists specialize in diagnosing and treating various digestive disorders, including colitis, hepatitis, pancreatitis, colon polyps, peptic ulcers, nutritional issues, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). While they focus on the GI tract's function, they do not typically address oral health issues, which are managed by dentists, nor rectal and anal conditions, which are treated by proctologists

Some commonly diagnosed digestive diseases include:

Gastroenterologists perform a range of nonsurgical procedures. This can include:

Upper endoscopy: This helps diagnose conditions of the food pipe, stomach, and small intestine.

Endoscopic ultrasounds: Examine the upper and lower GI tract, as well as other internal organs.

Colonoscopies: Detect colon cancer or colon polyps by doing this procedure endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, which identifies stones or tumors in the bile duct area.

Sigmoidoscopy: Evaluates blood loss or pain in the lower large bowel liver biopsy, which assesses inflammation and fibrosis in the liver.

Capsule endoscopy and double-balloon enteroscopy: Both examine the small intestine.

Feeding tube insertion: For inserting feeding tubes in the abdomen.

The organs affected by gastrointestinal system