Gastrointestinal & Endoscopic Services
Procedures for gastric illnesses are safe, simple, quick and less uncomfortable than they were in the past -- and vitally important for your health. Endoscopy is the area of medicine for the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. Physicians use an endoscope - a small flexible tube with a light and camera at one end - to examine the body's passageways including the esophagus, stomach, portions of the small bowel, common bile duct and colon. Services can be provided on an inpatient or outpatient basis by our competent, qualified and caring staff of physicians and nurses.
The benefits of our program include:
- Cutting edge new technologies such as Barrx ablation therapy for Barrett's Esophagus as well as many other services.
- Highly trained staff of registered nurses, and physician specialists
- Simple registration process, reduced waiting times, and emphasis on patient comfort
- Convenient location with easy parking access (unfortunately the parking is not seen as easily accessible by the patients and their families, since they have to park up front and then come all the way down to the back of the hospital: this is one of the biggest complaints we hear from the patients)
- Consistently high scores in patient satisfaction surveys
At Halifax Health we offer treatment on diseases of the digestive tract, liver, gallbladder and bile ducts. Procedure and treatment options include:
- Panendoscopy (upper GI tract to stomach)
- Enteroscopy (upper GI tract including stomach and upper portion of the small bowel)
- Colonoscopy (links to colonoscopy page (lower intestinal tract)
- New state-of-the-art Olympus endoscopic video (GI system with narrow band technology).
- Esophagoscopy with ablation of Barrett's Esophagus
- PEG Tube insertions (Insertion of Feeding Tubes)
- Examination through Ostomy openings
- Hemorrhoid Banding and Esophageal Variceal Banding
- Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio-Pancreatography (ERCP)
- Esophageal Motility Studies/24-hour Ph Monitoring/Anal Manometry
Halifax Health is the first in the region to offer treatment to cure precursor to esophageal cancer.
Barret's esophagus is a precancerous condition affecting the lining of the esophagus caused by chronic GERD (gastroesphageal reflux disease). In 2005, it was estimated to affect approximately 3.3 million adults in the US. People with Barrett's must undergo, on a regular basis, an endoscopic procedure that requires a visit to the hospital, anesthesia, several days of recovery and eating restrictions. Certain types of advanced Barrett's (high-grade dysplasia) and adenocarcinoma require an esophagectomy, a surgical procedure that involves removing the patient's esophagus. Esophagectomy is a formidable operation with significant risks and a lengthy recovery period. Left untreated it can lead to a type of esophageal cancer that is the most rapidly rising cancer in the US.
Currently the most common approach to managing Barrett's is regular surveillance or "watching and waiting". However this new treatment allows physicians to diagnose, treat and remove Barrett's as opposed to waiting for the cancer to possible develop.
HALO360 andHALO90 Systems
Halifax Health has recently is proud to operate the HALO360 andHALO90 Systems. This technology provides uniform and controlled ablative therapy at a consistent depth, which can remove the layer of the diseased tissue and allow the re-growth of normal cells without injuring healthy underlying tissue.
The benefits include:
- Removal of abnormal cells from the surface of the esophagus, without causing injury to the normal, healthy underlying tissues
- Serves as an alternative to surgically removing the esophagus
- Is a minimally invasive treatment performed without incisions
- Simultaneously prevents cancer and reduces anxiety for patients caused by living with a premalignant condition.
Now that technology is available to treat Barrett's disease before it progresses to cancer, there is an opportunity to impact this projection and ultimately improve the quality of life for the millions of Americans living with Barrett's esophagus.
