Overview

Patients

Patients may be referred to a gastroenterologist(GI) in order to diagnose and treat their symptoms . A GI may perform additional lab tests, endoscopic procedures and/or imaging techniques.

Depending on the condition, the GI may perform less-invasive endscopic therapies which are often preferable to convention surgery as they can significantly reduce recovery time, are generally less expensive and typically subject patients to fewer risks than conventional surgery. In less-invasive procedures, devices are usually inserted into the body through natural openings or small incisions and can be guided to most areas of the anatomy to diagnose and treat a wide range of medical problems.

For more information, see the Procedures section.