DIGESTIVE HEALTH SCREENING AND DIAGNOSTIC PROCEDURES

Lourdes Digestive Health relies on several disciplines and state-of-the-art capabilities to evaluate and treat gastrointestinal and motility disorders, liver disease and pancreatic and biliary duct disorders. Some of these procedures and techniques include:

• Endoscopy: An upper endoscopy is a test in which the entire esophagus, stomach, and most of the duodenum are checked using a lighted flexible tube with a camera-like device on one end. This procedure is used to detect the causes behind disorders such as reflux and heartburn. More than 60 million American adults experience gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and heartburn at least once per month. The procedure can also be used to detect ulcers, which afflict one in 10 Americans at some time in their life.

• Colonoscopy: Colorectal cancer is one of the most curable types of cancer, but the key is early detection. A colonoscopy is a test in which the entire colon is checked by using a lighted flexible tube with a camera-like device at one end. Polyps, which are small growths attached to the inner wall of the intestine and can be cancerous, can be removed during a colonoscopy.
  
  About 150,000 new cases of colorectal cancer are diagnosed in the US each year. About one person in 20 will develop colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of death in the nation. Treatment results in a 90 percent success rate when the disease is detected in its early stages. 

• Motility studies

• Liver studies

• Pancreatic and biliary procedures

• Gastrointestinal surgeries