The Right Track continued
the liver and the pancreas, as well as
inflammatory bowel diseases, such as
Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis,
which affect the intestines. These disorders,
which may be quite painful, can be
managed through medication and diet.
Abdominal pain often turns out to be
the result of irritable bowel syndrome,
which Dr. Richards characterizes as a
disturbance of the intestinal nervous
system. Its symptoms include changes in
bowel habits and abdominal cramping.
While the condition causes no lasting
damage to the bowel, it cannot be cured, so
treatment is the only avenue of relief. “You
can manipulate diet, and you can use some
medications to ameliorate some of the
symptoms,” says Scott & White Healthcare
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Andrejs E. Avots-Avotins, MD, PhD, and
gastroenterologist at the Temple, TX, clinic.
Although the common ailments of
reflux and irritable bowel syndrome are
seldom serious, they can be painful
and humiliating. Patients desperately
want relief, and Scott & White’s
gastroenterologists are pleased when they
can provide it. “I find I can frequently help
someone who has suffered in silence with
any number of gastrointestinal problems
through fairly simple measures and
education,” says Dr. Havemann. “That by
itself is very satisfying, to see a patient who
has suffered find relief.”
When patients describe their digestive
ailments, the specialists are careful to
listen for more serious symptoms, which
may include difficulty swallowing, early
satiety, blood in the stool, abdominal pain
or weight loss. “Unintentional weight loss
is always concerning, and we are quick to
want to rule out malignancies of the
esophagus, stomach, colon or other
parts of the gastrointestinal system,” says
Dr. Havemann.
Advanced technology helps
diagnose disease
To investigate the gastrointe