What is the Gastroenterology Department?

The gastroenterology department deals with the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the digestive system, starting from the mouth and including the esophagus, stomach, small and large intestines, as well as diseases of the liver, pancreas, gallbladder and bile ducts. After completing 6 years of medical education, a gastroenterology specialist receives 4-5 years of internal medicine specialization training and earns this title by completing 3 more years of gastroenterology subspecialty training.

Gastroenterology doctors mostly use endoscopy to make diagnoses in their daily practice. The literal meaning of endoscopy is to observe the inside. Endo=inside, scopy=to observe. If the stomach is being examined, it should be called gastroscopy (gastro=stomach, scopy=observe), if the large intestine is being examined, it should be called colonoscopy (colon=large intestine, scopy=observe). The word endoscopy is often used synonymously with gastroscopy. These procedures are performed with the help of a device called an endoscope, which has a camera and light at its end. In gastric endoscopy (gastroscopy), the esophagus, stomach and first sections of the small intestine are observed through the mouth, and if necessary, a biopsy is taken for a better diagnosis or polyps are removed if present. In large intestine endoscopy (colonoscopy), the entire large intestine and the last part of the small intestine are examined through the anus, biopsies are taken to confirm the diagnosis, and polyps, if any, are removed. Endoscopy devices are quite expensive and it is not possible to use a new device for every patient. For this reason, the devices are carefully cleaned and disinfected before being used on the next patient. During endoscopy procedures, patients are completely anesthetized in our clinic, ensuring that they do not feel any discomfort. This sleeping process is not a complete anesthesia. It is a form of anesthesia that causes deep sleep, called sedative anesthesia.

The most commonly treated diseases in the gastroenterology department are gastritis, ulcers, reflux and hiatal hernia, as well as specific intestinal inflammations such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, which occur in the large intestine. These diseases, called colitis, are diagnosed, treated and followed up. After the diagnosis of tumors and cancers of the stomach and intestines is made, the necessary surgeries for treatment are performed in collaboration with our general surgery department.