Interventional GI

What is Interventional GI?

UVA Interventional Endoscopy in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology is staffed by physicians Bryan Sauer, Vanessa Shami, Daniel Strand, Ross Buerlein, Alexander Podboy, and Andrew Wang.  Together, they offer experienced consultative care for patients with luminal, pancreaticobiliary, and oncologic disorders of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.

UVA Interventional Endoscopy utilizes innovative and specialized endoscopic procedures to achieve its goal of providing advanced patient care of the highest quality. Patients are referred to us from the mid-Atlantic region and from across the country for some of these advanced procedures.

UVA Interventional Endoscopy, in collaboration with other faculty members in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, offers the following:

Diagnostic Endoscopy

Diagnostic endoscopies are performed to visualize the GI tract to diagnose abnormal conditions. If abnormal conditions are discovered, they may be treated medically, surgically, or endoscopically.

In a diagnostic GI endoscopy, physicians use endoscopes — sophisticated instruments with a thin, flexible tube equipped with a tiny camera and light — to see inside the GI tract. The endoscope is inserted through the mouth or rectum. When abnormalities such as polyps, ulcers, or strictures are found, a biopsy may be performed to collect a tissue sample. The results will then guide medical treatment. When precancerous polyps are found, the diagnostic endoscopy may then be followed by a therapeutic endoscopy, during which the polyp is removed to reduce the risk of cancer developing in the digestive tract in the future.

Interventional Endoscopy

In addition to diagnostic procedures, UVA Interventional Endoscopy offers advanced endoscopic procedures, such as:

• Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) with fine-needle aspiration (FNA)
• Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
• Advanced polypectomy, including
  • Endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR)
  • Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD).

We also offer an array of ablative endoscopic procedures, including:

• Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) for Barrett’s esophagus and cancers of the bile ducts or pancreas
• Laser lithotripsy for difficult-to-remove stones in the bile duct or pancreas duct.

Finally, for patients with incurable cancer, we offer palliative endoluminal stenting of the esophagus, duodenum, bile ducts, pancreatic duct, colon, and rectum, to help them achieve the best possible quality of life.