Stomach Pains

Advanced Endoscopy Center serves patients with leading technology

Inova Fairfax Hospital’s Advanced Endoscopy Center offers a wide array of services to diagnose and treat gastrointestinal issues. “Inova Fairfax Hospital has elite services enabling us to diagnose and treat diseases with the flexible endoscope,” says Behzad Kalaghchi, MD, Medical Director of the Inova Fairfax Hospital Advanced Endoscopy Center. “We use the most successful non-surgical treatment options available. Patients benefit enormously from the minimally invasive approach that endoscopy affords. The avoidance of more invasive procedures also results in substantial healthcare cost savings.”

The center provides a wide range of specialized diagnostic and treatment modalities and options not commonly provided in the medical community. Diagnosis, staging, treatment or palliation of gastrointestinal cancers, and management of benign or malignant pancreato-biliary conditions are a major part of the center’s services. Generally, patients with these types of complex problems are referred by other gastroenterologists, oncologists, surgeons or primary care providers to the center.

In order to treat and diagnose these issues, the healthcare professionals at Inova Fairfax Hospital’s Advanced Endoscopy Center have access to a state-of-the-art endoscopy lab and cutting-edge technology. “We regularly update our endoscopic lab with newer lines of equipment and services for optimal management of each condition that we treat,” says Dr. Kalaghchi.

The newest equipment and services includes electrohydraulic lithotripsy, which aids in the destruction of larger, more difficult-to-treat bile stones; and balloon enteroscopy, to provide visualization of the deeper portions of the small bowel.

Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) is an integral part of the center. This modality allows for continuous imaging and observation for a spectrum of EUS-guided interventions, including drainage of the pancreas and gallbladder and other fluid collections; access to the pancreatic and biliary systems; celiac plexus interventions; and ablative therapies.

All of this is made possible through Inova Fairfax Hospital’s dedication to high-quality service and well-trained healthcare professionals across the spectrum.

“We have a monthly multidisciplinary conference incorporating all the related specialties and resources available to discuss complex cases,” says Dr. Kalaghchi. “We are very passionate about our work and the service we provide to patients. We emphasize personalized patient care that is delivered through our physicians’ commitment to excellence and endoscopic expertise.”

Get Help

If you have frequent or long-standing heartburn, talk to your physician. For a referral to an advanced endoscopist specializing in this treatment, call 1.855.My.Inova or visit inova.org/healthcare-services/endoscopy/index.jsp.