Gastroenterologist's view of the stomach Recently, while covering for one of my partners on a weekend, I was consulted by a physician to do a procedure. The doctor wanted his patient to undergo an EGD, which is a scope test that examines the esophagus, stomach and first portion of the small intestine called the duodenum. We gastroenterologists do this test routinely to search for an explanation for a patient’s symptoms, or to determine if these organs might be harboring a lesion that is silently bleeding. Gastroenterologists are obligated to perform procedures for sound medical reasons. I have already confessed publicly on this blog why physicians like me have performed medical tests for the wrong reasons. The medical universe is not ideal, and neither are its players. Nevertheless, we want our care to make sense and not to waste dollars. For example, if a patient is suffering an acute headache, it would be hard to justify ordering a CAT scan of the abdomen, which would be unl
MD Whistleblower presents vignettes and commentaries on the medical profession. We peek 'behind the medical curtain' and deliver candor and controversy in every post.