NorthShore University HealthSystem is a regional center for patients who need advanced endoscopy procedures to treat a wide range of upper and lower digestive tract conditions. Our advanced therapeutic endoscopists have received additional and specialized training and have extensive experience using the newest technologies. As part of a multidisciplinary team, they are committed to providing the highest quality patient care.
The Advanced Therapeutic Endoscopy Program puts patients at the center of comprehensive and compassionate care. Our endoscopists are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for patients with emergencies at each of NorthShore's hospitals – Evanston, Glenbrook, Highland Park and Skokie.
For most patients, NorthShore’s advanced therapeutic endoscopists work with your primary care physician and perform these outpatient procedures at Evanston Hospital and Highland Park Hospital. Each of these locations offers patients a full complement of services in state-of-the-art GI Labs with the latest fluoroscopy and anesthesia equipment.
As a regional center, NorthShore's Advanced Therapeutic Endoscopy Program cares for inpatients with complex diseases and conditions at other hospitals in the area. These patients are transferred to NorthShore for advanced outpatient diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy procedures. They then return to their referring physicians and/or hospital systems for further follow up and care as needed.
The program also provides multidisciplinary care from a team of physicians at the Kellogg Cancer Center. We offer a unique weekly clinic for outpatient evaluation and consultation, staffed by cancer surgeons, gastrointestinal oncologists and advanced therapeutic endoscopists. This one-of-a-kind clinical service attracts patients from throughout the North Shore and the Midwest seeking our expertise.
Through cutting-edge research, we continually strive to improve therapeutic options to achieve the utmost in patient safety and quality outcomes. Advanced endoscopy procedures greatly enhance our ability to treat a myriad of digestive tract disorders in a non-surgical manner. Our researchers are involved in several clinical trials.
Over the past several years, the types of procedures that can be performed by endoscopists have grown significantly – with powerful endoscopic technology designed to diagnose and treat patients with a variety of digestive disorders. These include conditions of the esophagus, gallbladder, pancreas, liver, upper and lower intestines, and the biliary ducts, or drainage routes of the digestive system.
Using a long, thin, flexible tube called an endoscope, which includes a light and video camera to transmit images to a screen, physicians can obtain detailed videos of a patient's digestive tract and identify any abnormalities, such as tumors, gallstones, pancreatic stones and common bile duct stones.
Endoscopy procedures require patients to prepare up to several days ahead of time. Learn more about our procedures and what to expect before, during and after: