Northside's Advanced Center for GI Therapeutics offers a variety of gastrointestinal (GI) procedures to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of GI conditions.
Whether your procedure is a routine colon cancer screening or a procedure to diagnose and treat new GI symptoms, our team of gastroenterologists (physicians specializing in GI conditions) and GI nurses and techs are ready to collaborate with you and develop an individual plan of care. Other members of your interdisciplinary health care team, who work closely with the GI/Pulmonary Endoscopy Labs, may include anesthesiologists (doctors and anesthetists specializing in sedation and pain control), respiratory therapists, pharmacists, radiologists (doctors and technologists specializing in x-rays and special imaging like CT scans and MRIs), ostomy nurses, nutrition support and other hospital specialists.
Colonoscopy – This test allows the doctor to look inside the colon (large intestine) using a video image.
Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD or upper endoscopy) – This test allows the doctor to look inside the esophagus (swallowing tube), the stomach and the first part of the small intestine called the duodenum using a video image.
In addition to these common procedures, each of our Endoscopy Labs is able to treat many GI conditions at the time of the procedure such as stopping a stomach ulcer from bleeding, removing a colon polyp that may have turned into cancer if not found, or removing a blockage from the bile pathway that was causing pain and pancreatitis.
Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS) - This special endoscopic procedure provides the additional ability to use ultrasound imaging to view areas outside of the GI lumen such as the pancreas, liver and gallbladder, to identify cancer or other abnormalities. Once cancers or abnormalities are identified a treatment plan can be developed.
Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio Pancreatograpy (ERCP) – This test allows the doctor to look at and access the biliary system (pathways from the liver that drain bile), the gallbladder and the pancreas using a combination of video imaging and special x-rays.
Endoscopic Mucosal Resection (EMR) – These techniques allow the doctor to remove larger polyps or lesions in the GI tract.
Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection (ESD) – A minimally invasive procedure that allows for the removal of precancerous and cancerous areas in the gastrointestinal tract that were previously only removable by having surgery.
Per Oral Endoscopic Myotomy (POEM) – A minimally invasive procedure used to treat swallowing or motility disorders that could previously only be treated by having surgery. These diseases include achalasia, gastroparesis, and esophageal diverticula.
Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Liver Biopsy (EUS-LB) – Using specialized equipment, the procedure allows the doctor to see the liver and take samples while monitoring the pathway using the live ultrasound images.
EGD with Ablation Therapy for Barrett’s Esophagus (BE) – Barrett’s esophagus is a condition in which stomach acid backs up into your esophagus and damages it. If BE is left untreated, it could cause esophageal cancer. Ablation therapy typically uses heat or cold energy to destroy the damaged cells without harming healthy tissue, reducing the chance of cancer.
High Resolution Esophageal Manometry, Esophageal Impedence Studies and Esophageal pH Studies – These procedures help collect information about the strength and coordination of movements and acid levels from reflux in the esophagus.
Anorectal Manometry – This test measures how well the muscles that control bowel movements are working.
To refer a patient to the Advanced Center for GI Therapeutics, please contact 855-293-3225.
