Saint Joseph's Digestive Disease Center: Advanced Treatments

Endoscopy

Endoscopes are flexible tubes that can be passed through the mouth or rectum, and allow direct viewing of the surfaces of the esophagus (food pipe), stomach, intestine, and colon.  Endoscopic examinations allow physicians to diagnose and treat a variety of intestinal disorders, including abdominal pain, vomiting, and bleeding from the intestinal tract.  In addition, benign growths of the colon which can be precursors of colon cancer may be detected and removed.  Special adaptations of the endoscope allow stones to be removed from the bile duct (drainage tube for digestive juices of the liver and gallbladder) and pancreas.  A technique known as endoscopic ultrasound allows very high detailed views of the gastrointestinal tract, as well as neighboring structures such as the pancreas.

Laparoscopy

WATCH video Digestive Disease Center Dr. Guy Orangio discusses the benefits of minimally-invasive surgery.

Saint Joseph’s Hospital provides state-of-the-art laparoscopic surgery for a variety of colon and rectal conditions, including Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, diverticular disease, familial polyposis, chronic constipation, colon cancer and rectal prolapse.  A minimally invasive approach to surgery, laparoscopic procedures offer patients significant benefits including smaller incisions, less pain, fewer heart, lung, and wound complications, and shortened hospital stay.

Traditional surgical treatment for many intestinal disorders  requires a long midline abdominal incision and a lengthy recovery period of between four and eight weeks.  Laparoscopy offers patients an identical operation, performed through an incision that is approximately only 5 cm long.

                       
Mouth-to-Anus Capsule Endoscopy

Saint Joseph’s endoscopy unit offers this procedure to diagnose diseases of the small intestine, including Crohn’s Disease, Celiac Disease, malabsorption disorders, tumors, vascular disorders, and medication-related small bowel injury. The painless procedure involves swallowing a capsule that contains a video camera. 

The video camera takes thousands of pictures as the capsule travels throughout the digestive tract.  The capsule is expelled normally.

Wound Ostomy Continence (ET Nurse)

SJHA offers support to ostomy patients as well as those with such needs as pressure ulcers and incontinence via specially trained, certified nurse consultants.

Virtual Colonography

The minimally-invasive CT colonography has been recommended by the American Cancer Society as a screening option for colon cancer and also for those patients who have previously had an ‘incomplete colonoscopy’ or for other reasons, those who are not good candidates for an invasive colonoscopy.