Barrett’s esophagus is a change that occurs in the lining of the esophagus in response to chronic acid injury. About 10% of patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), develop Barrett’s esophagus. When Barrett’s esophagus develops, the inner layer of tissue in the esophagus transforms from normal tissue (called squamous cell epithelium) into tissue that looks [...]
ADVANCED TREATMENT FOR GASTRIC VARICES -- GLUE-COIL EMBOLIZATION GASTRIC VARICES Patients with end-stage liver disease (cirrhosis) or patients with other causes of portal hypertension can develop abnormal blood vessels along the wall of the gut. Most commonly, these abnormal blood vessels, called varices, develop in the lower esophagus. The standard therapy for the treatment [...]
By: Kenneth F Binmoeller, M.D. Director, Interventional Endoscopy Services Historically, patients with achalasia underwent a surgical Heller’s myotomy. The chest and abdominal cavities are entered from the skin and then the esophageal wall is cut open to relieve the spasm of the inner muscle layer. Over the past decade, an alternative endoscopic approach called POEM [...]
About Cologuard and False Negative Results Cologuard tests DNA from stool samples for the presence of abnormal cancerous or precancerous cells. Studies have shown that Cologuard detects 92 percent of colorectal cancers*. However, unfortunately, Cologuard detects only 42 percent of precancerous polyps. This means in over half of patients with polyps we miss the opportunity [...]
