Division Of Gastroenterology & Hepatology

With technology progressing at an advanced rate, the field of medicine has moved by leaps and bounds.  At the center of gastroenterology was the development of the video endoscope.  It is a medical instrument in the form of a flexible tube with a camera at the tip.  The endoscope enables physicians to see the insides of the digestive tract which are usually hidden from view.  It can be inserted through any natural openings, such as the mouth or rectum.  The instrument produces images on a medial monitor similar to having your camcorder attached to your television set.

The endoscope not only allows visualization to help make a medical diagnosis, but also allows for treatments.  Tiny surgical instruments can be passed through an opening in this tube to allow the endoscopist to take biopsy samples, remove polyps, remove stones, or even remove fluid.  The physicians at UMDNJ-NJMS are experts in their usage of the endoscope and with utilizing state-of-the-art tools which are not usually available in the community.

A variety of procedures performed by gastroenterologists use the video endoscope while others do not.  The following procedures represent some of the many GI procedures being performed today.

• Flexible sigmoidoscopy (rectum to lower colon)

• Colonoscopy (entire colon, from rectum to the lower end of the small intestine).

• Upper GI endoscopy (esophagus, stomach, duodenum)

• ERCP (liver, gall bladder, pancreas, bile ducts)

• EUS (esophagus, stomach, duodenum, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, bile ducts, and colon)

• Liver Biopsy (GI procedure. Not an endoscopy, but performed in the GI endoscopy unit)

• Paracentesis (removal of fluid from the abdominal cavity)

• Manometry (esophagus, biliary, pancreatic, or rectal)

• Capsule Endoscopy (small intestine)
• Breath Testing (stomach)