Gastrointestinal Associates (GIA) is very involved in research to determine the effectiveness of the treatments of gastrointestinal diseases. This involvement is a direct benefit to the patients of GIA.
Recently, GIA and I participated in a study of one particular treatment of Barrett’s esophagus, a condition that can lead to cancer of that organ. The study was published in May of this year in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine (PDF, 2.1 mb), and GIA was one of 19 centers across the United States participating in the research. The study showed that radiofrequency ablation (thermal destruction) of abnormal cells eradicated those cells without damaging the esophagus.
Your primary care physician refers you to Gastrointestinal Associates (GIA) for a colonoscopy. If it is your first exam, you may be a little apprehensive. What should you expect?