Gastroenterology is concerned with the digestive system and its disorders. Our service cares for patients who have problems with the upper abdomen. This includes the oesophagus, stomach, duodenum, pancreas, bile ducts, gallbladder and liver.

Gastrointestinal issues can cause pain and discomfort, ranging from fairly minor to serious. To gather an understanding of your specific condition, our expert team of consultants can use a range of methods to examine your digestive tract. This might include an endoscopy, CT scans and ultrasounds which can help create a fully comprehensive picture of your gastrointestinal organs.

Gastrointestinal (GI) issues encompass a wide range of conditions, commonly causing symptoms such as:

  • abdominal pain
  • bloating
  • diarrhoea
  • constipation
  • difficulty swallowing
  • heartburn/indigestion and acid reflux
  • nausea
  • problems in the passage of food 
  • feeling full earlier than you would normally expect to when eating
  • loss of appetitie
  • jaundice (yellowing of the skin)

Below are some of the gastrointestinal problems you might need treatment for, however our specialist team will be happy to see you whatever concerns you may have.

Inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a term used to describe conditions that cause severe tummy pain and diarrhoea. IBD is long-term, but there are treatments that can help with the symptoms. The main types of IBD are Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. IBD is different to irritable bowel syndrome even though some of the symptoms may be similar.

Functional bowel disorder

A functional bowel disorder (FBD) is the term used for a group of conditions which cause digestive symptoms without the presence of structural abnormalities. Symptoms may include: diarrhoea, constipation, bloating, excessive wind, urgency to open your bowels, felling the need to go to the toilet when you have just been, passing mucous, nausea or acid reflux.

Upper gastrointestinal problems

Upper gastrointestinal (GI) problems affect the food pipe (oesophagus), stomach, and the first part of the small intestine. Common problems that our gastroenterologists see patients for are acid reflux, indigestion, gastritis, stomach and duodenal ulcers and hiatus hernias.

Colonscopy

A test to check inside your bowels to help find what's causing your bowel symptoms and to diagnose gastrointestinal diseases.

Polypectomy

A minimally invasive, and generally painless procedure to remove polyps—abnormal tissue growths—from the lining of the colon (large bowel).

Gastroscopy (or upper GI endoscopy)

A gastroscopy is a test to check inside your throat, food pipe (oesophagus) and stomach, known as the upper part of your digestive system. This test can help find what's causing your symptoms.

Trans-nasal endoscopy

A 10 to 15 minute examination. A very slim, flexible tube called an endoscope is passed through your nose and down the back of your throat. This will let us look directly at the oesophagus (the tube that food passes down to reach the stomach), the stomach and around the duodenum (the first bend of the small intestine).

Wireless video capsule endoscopy

A video capsule endoscopy looks at the inside of your bowel. You swallow a small capsule that takes pictures as it travels along your gut. The test is simple, non-invasive and very safe.

Our endoscopy service helps patients who have problems with their digestive system. Endoscopic procedures involve passing an endoscope (a tube about half an inch thick) into the gastro-intestinal tract via the mouth or anus so the doctor can look inside you and take biopsies if required.

Capsule Endoscopy

You swallow a vitamin-pill-sized capsule containing a tiny camera, battery, and transmitter. As it passes through your digestive tract, it takes thousands of pictures of your digestive tract to diagnose conditions like Crohn's disease, coeliac disease, and gastrointestinal bleeding.

Sigmoidoscopy

A procedure where one of our specialists will use a thin, flexible tube (endoscope) to examine the lining of your rectum and the lower part of your large bowel (sigmoid colon). It is used to investigate symptoms like bleeding, abdominal pain, or changes in bowel habit

The standards of endoscopy at Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust have been assessed and accredited by the Joint Advisory Group on Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (www.thejag.co.uk).

 

The first step for any patient is usually an initial consultation. Unless your GP or insurer has told you otherwise, you should book your first appointment with a member of our gastroenterology team.

Our consultants are listed below, where there are more details of their areas of clinical interest and appointment times. Alternatively, please call our dedicated team of friendly advisors on 020 8546 6677.

At Kingston Private Health, you can either use your private health insurance or pay for your own treatment.

Consultants