Digestive Care Services

Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas provides comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic services for patients with gastrointestinal disorders or digestive diseases, performing nearly 15,000 procedures annually.

In 2007, Baylor Dallas’ digestive care services ranked 31^st among the nation’s top 50 hospitals by U.S News & World Report.

Among the digestive diseases treated at Baylor are:

• inflammatory bowel disease
• ulcer disease
• acute and chronic liver disease including hepatitis C and cirrhosis
• gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• chronic diarrhea
• irritable bowel syndrome

The digestive care services program offers a full array of diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy services for patients. Endoscopy is the science of viewing the esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon and gallbladder with scopes that provide video and sonographic images of these areas. Gastrointestinal services consist of 10 procedure rooms and a 24-bed observation area within the 18,000 square foot department, allowing patients to remain in the same area to recover following their procedures.

Camera Pill Views Small Intestine

Patients now can ingest a camera, the size of a pill, that provides physicians an insider’s view of the small intestine. The M2A^TM Capsule Endoscope, or “camera in a pill,” enables physicians specializing in the digestive tract to see inside a patient’s 21-foot long small intestine.

Approximately 70 million Americans currently suffer from gastrointestinal problems, such as obscure bleeding, Crohn’s disease and intestinal tumors, but the inability to visualize the surfaces of the small intestines limits diagnostic options. The capsule passes naturally through the digestive tract, recording video images that are transmitted and stored on a recorder belt worn by the patient. Eight hours after swallowing the capsule, the patient returns the recorder belt to physicians on the medical staff for viewing and diagnosing any disorders.