Gastroenterology

Our team treats every part of a patient’s digestive system that can be affected by digestive diseases and associated disorders. Specifically, we treat esophageal disorders, stomach and small bowel conditions, colonic disorders, and other diseases that involve the digestive system including the liver, pancreas, bile duct, and gallbladder.

Patients benefit from a system-wide access to specialists and sub-specialists in gastroenterology at MedStar Health. We complete about 20,000 procedures per year and 41,000 clinic visits, including telehealth appointments per year. Our patients receive the highest quality patient-centered care possible through our:

Center for Digestive Disease

The Center for Digestive Disease at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center offers nationally recognized physicians and gastroenterology doctors who are dedicated to providing highly specialized, extensive, and compassionate patient care for a full range of digestive system disease disorders.

Our multidisciplinary team of experts comprises specialty trained physicians, nurses, technicians, and providers who utilize a comprehensive range of groundbreaking nonsurgical and minimally invasive techniques to treat diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and liver.

Center for GI Bleeding

The goal of the Center is to provide comprehensive care for patients suffering from anemia. The Center for GI Bleeding helps patients who have issues with both new onset and chronic blood loss in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.

Working together, hematologists and gastroenterologists across the system collaborate to help identify and treat causes for blood loss in the GI tract through:

• The use of video capsule endoscopy (a small capsule that takes pictures throughout the GI tract to help locate lesions that can bleed)
• Specialized radiographic studies of the small bowel (such as MRIs or CT scans)
• Deep endoscopy into the small bowel when indicated (scopes that go further into the GI tract than standard upper endoscopies or colonoscopies)

Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

We understand that IBD can affect people at any stage of life, disrupting their personal, professional, and social experiences. Working closely with our IBD patients, our team provides accurate and timely diagnosis to prevent disease progression and complications, and to minimize medication side effects in order to help achieve the best quality of life.

High risk GI cancer prevention

Some individuals do not know they carry genetic markers for GI cancer, but if they knew, they could avoid developing cancer altogether. Our multidisciplinary team launched the Gastrointestinal Cancer Prevention Program at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital to offer a home for patients to prevent various gastroenterological cancers.

Patients with a family history of cancer, or who have received genetic testing and/or have been determined to have inherited cancer syndromes, such as Lynch Syndrome, may visit the clinic on an annual basis to receive surveillance services such as endoscopy, colonoscopy, or imaging. We will share with you the latest therapeutic treatments for preventing disease, as well as advice for lifestyle changes like smoking cessation or avoiding alcohol and red meat.

Through our research engine, Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center—the only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated comprehensive cancer center in the Washington, D.C. region—patients have access to clinical trials and the latest breakthroughs in cancer care.

Being high risk for GI cancer often means being high risk for other cancers as well. Our comprehensive plan ensures continuity of care, coordinating surveillance with other departments on a case by case basis.

Could you be at risk for colon cancer? Take our 5-minute assessment to learn more.

Learn more about our GI Cancer Prevention program

Esophageal Center

We offer the latest, minimally invasive approaches. We work in partnership with The Ruesch Center for the Cure of Gastrointestinal Cancers at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in collaboration with Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. We treat a range of esophageal disorders from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) to Barrett’s esophagus to motility and swallowing disorders.

Liver Diseases Program

The Liver Diseases Program specializes in minimally invasive and endoscopic approaches allowing clinicians to diagnose and treat conditions using a thin, flexible tube equipped with small lights and a camera. Our team of expert clinicians work closely with specialists in radiology, interventional radiology, pathology, and medical oncology to ensure that patients receive the best care and care plan.

Our team includes nationally recognized experts in evaluating liver diseases and identifying patients for transplantation. Patients can be referred to MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute, one of the largest liver transplant centers in the mid-Atlantic region.

Pancreas and Biliary Diseases Center

We are leaders in advanced pancreaticobiliary endoscopy and molecular profiling, critical to the precise diagnosis and tumor classification that leads to better outcomes for these complex diseases. As a major component of the Pancreas and Liver Diseases Program, the Department is instrumental in promoting faster, more accurate evaluations and triage to the right specialists for the most advanced therapies available today.

We also have a dedicated Pancreatic Cyst Clinic for the systematic follow-up and continuity of care of patients with confirmed pancreatic cysts or lesions.