The stomach and small bowel are important parts of the digestive system. The core stomach function is to digest food in order to extract necessary nutrients from what you have eaten, while the small bowel’s function is to absorb these nutrients and water from the food. Many different conditions may require surgery of the stomach or small bowel. Conditions that affect the stomach or small bowel and can require surgery include: Crohn’s Disease, bleeding, infection, inflammation, blockage, ulcers, tumors, and adenocarcinoma. Dr Tabbara performs minimally invasive surgery for the treatment of stomach and small bowel conditions.
Symptoms
People with stomach or small bowel conditions may experience the following symptoms:
- Blood in the stool (feces)
- Dark/black stools
- Diarrhea
- A lump in the abdomen
- Abdominal cramps
- Unexplained weight loss
- Abdominal pain
Diagnosis
In addition to a physical exam, you may require blood and radiological tests. These tests may include:
- CT scan: This test uses x-rays to create cross-sectional pictures of the belly area. This test is painless and noninvasive.
- Abdominal ultrasound: This noninvasive test uses painless sound waves to "look at" the organs in the abdomen.
- Endoscopy: Uses a thin, flexible tube (endoscope) to look at the lining of the esophagus, stomach, and upper small intestine.
- Upper GI series (upper gastrointestinal series): X-ray of the upper gastrointestinal tract is taken after you drink barium contrast material.
Treatment
When conditions of the stomach or small bowel require surgery, Dr Tabbara uses sophisticated minimally invasive surgical techniques. This type of surgery requires 3 to 5 small incisions into which a thin telescope is placed that allows Dr Tabbara to view the inside of the abdomen on a monitor. He removes the unhealthy sections of intestine and reconnects the healthy sections through these small incisions. Minimally invasive surgery results in much shorter recovery time than traditional surgery.