Gastroenterology

Endoscopic ultrasound is a minimally invasive procedure performed to assess gastrointestinal and lung diseases. High frequency sound waves are used during the ultrasound to get detailed images of the walls and the lining of a person’s digestive tract, chest, and other organs nearby such as liver, pancreas, and lymph nodes.

A laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a procedure wherein the gallbladder is removed from one’s body using laparoscopic techniques. The surgery is minimally invasive, and is performed with the major assistance of several thin instruments, and a video camera.

An UGI (Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy) is a procedure performed by the doctor in order to look at the inside lining of the oesophagus (food pipe), the stomach, and the first part of a person’s small intestine. The endoscope is inserted through the patient’s mouth and is then gently moved down the throat into the oesophagus, and then into the stomach and the upper gastrointestinal tract.

A chronic, inflammatory bowel disease that causes inflammation of the digestive tract. Common symptoms include rectal bleeding, bloody diarrhoea, abdominal cramps and pain.

Pancreatic cancer is a very aggressive cancer that originates in the pancreas. Its symptoms do not become apparent till the disease becomes advanced; this late diagnosis makes successful treatment challenging.

Pancreatitis is characterized by inflammation, redness, and swelling of the pancreas, often triggered when digestive juices or enzymes attack this vital organ. The condition typically stems from various factors, including alcohol abuse and the presence of solid gallstones within the gallbladder. Gallstones can obstruct the pancreatic duct, preventing enzymes from exiting the pancreas. Additional causes encompass abdominal injuries or surgery, elevated levels of triglycerides or calcium in the blood, specific medications like oestrogens, steroids, and thiazide diuretics, infections such as mumps, hepatitis A or B, or salmonella, cystic fibrosis, tumours, certain genetic abnormalities, congenital pancreas issues, pancreatic trauma, and cigarette smoking. Pancreatitis can manifest as either an acute or chronic ailment.