Digestive Health
A healthy digestive system is essential for the body to function properly. Cedar Park Regional Medical Center offers gastrointestinal services, including endoscopy, to help doctors diagnose and treat digestive issues.
The endoscopy lab at Cedar Park Regional Medical Center has four procedure rooms and a bronchoscopy suite for diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal tract disorders and respiratory tract problems. Procedures are performed on an outpatient basis, and are relatively painless, but some patients can experience mild discomfort.
Gastroenterology focuses on digestive disorders and the wide variety of symptoms that can accompany them such as heartburn, acid reflux, abdominal pain, constipation and indigestion.
Gastroenterologists provide treatment options for a range of digestive disorders, including:
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- Acid reflux (GERD)
- Diverticulitis and diverticulosis
- Barrett's esophagus
- Gallstones
- Colon polyps
- Constipation
- Pancreatitis
- Peptic ulcer disease
- Helicobacter pylori
- Crohn's disease
- Ulcerative colitis
- Gastroparesis
- GI bleeding
- Esophageal varices
- Internal hemorrhoids
- Biliary stricture
- Common bile duct stones
- Arteriovenous malformations
- Esophageal strictures
Issues with the digestive process can affect many other aspects of our overall health. Some conditions may not be able to be fully treated but can often be managed with diet or lifestyle changes, prescriptions and over-the-counter medications.
Digestive health diagnostic tests and treatments include:
- Colonoscopy, a test that provides the doctor a look at the inner lining of your large intestine. It is used to diagnose ulcers, polyps and tumors.
- Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), which examines the lining of the esophagus, stomach and part of the small intestine. It helps diagnose celiac disease; esophagitis; GERD; hiatal hernia; cancer in the esophagus, stomach or first part of the small intestine; and ulcers.
- ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography), including spyglass and advanced stent placement.
- Cholangioscopy, which provides direct, noninvasive visualization into the biliary ducts to identify stones and strictures.
- Esophageal high resolution manometry, measuring the pressure and functionality of the esophagus. This test is used to diagnose gastroesophageal reflux (GERD), achalasia, which affects the ability of the body to move food into the stomach, and esophageal spasms, which also affect how food is carried to the stomach.
- Flexible sigmoidoscopy, which allows the physician look at the lower part of your large intestine from the rectum to the sigmoid colon. It is also used to look for early signs of cancer, inflamed tissue, growths, ulcers and bleeding.
- Upper and lower endoscopic ultrasound - with fine needle aspiration.
- Endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), a procedure used to remove lesions from the digestive tract.
- PEG placement (Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy feeding tube).
- Pouchoscopy.
- Radiofrequency ablation halo, used to treat Barrett's esophagus by removing diseased tissue with minimal damage to healthy tissue.
- Double balloon enteroscopy.
American Cancer Society's Recommendation for Colon Screening
For more information, please call (512) 528-7000