Created in 2013, the UAB Digestive Health Center helps patients more effectively manage digestive conditions and improve their lifestyles. Staffed by a multi-specialty team of experts, the center combines our expertise in GI care, GI surgery, colorectal surgery, and transplant surgery with hepatology, which focuses on treating conditions of the liver, gallbladder, pancreas, and the vessels (known as the biliary tree) that connect those organs.
UAB Medicine is known worldwide as a leading center for digestive and liver disorders. We see over 20,000 patients and perform more than 12,000 outpatient procedures each year.
About the center
The UAB Digestive Health Center provides the full range of evaluation and testing services in a single location, including a state-of-the-art endoscopy center on site. We offer the most advanced minimally invasive surgical techniques, which allow for much faster healing and fewer potential complications than with traditional open surgery. Our providers work closely with a variety of other specialties, including nutrition and pain management, to develop comprehensive care plans and provide an excellent patient experience. Patients who meet certain criteria can meet with both the medical and surgical teams in a single visit.
Conditions treated
- Upper GI disease, including Barrett’s esophagus
- Pancreatic and biliary disease, including cancer
- Acute and chronic pancreatitis
- Colorectal disease, including cancer
- Obesity
- Gallstones
- Thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal disease
- Hiatal and paraesophageal hernias
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and acid reflux
- Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- Small bowel disorders
- Celiac disease (also known as celiac sprue or gluten-sensitive enteropathy)
Procedures & services
- Evaluation for liver transplantation
- Double-balloon enteroscopy
- Radiofrequency (RF) ablation
- Endoscopic submucosal resection
- Diagnostic and therapeutic ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography)
- Bariatric surgery for obesity, using minimally invasive and robotic techniques
- Robotic colon and rectal surgery
- Advanced GI laparoscopy
- Anti-reflux procedures
GI care at UAB Medicine
UAB Medicine continues to lead advancements in gastroenterology through active clinical research trials involving the latest drug therapies and other treatments for digestive disorders. Our doctors and scientists are searching for causes and cures for many GI illnesses through basic research. For example, they study how the bacteria in our intestines affect our health.
Our GI program is also historically significant. The inventor of the endoscope, Basil Hirschowitz, M.D., founded our program more than 50 years ago. His innovation revolutionized diagnoses for GI and other conditions and continues to inspire us today. Our interventional endoscopy group, which includes endoscopic ultrasound, is one of the busiest and most prestigious in the country – both clinically and academically.
Care Providers
Resources
Related Specialties
- Anal Cancer
Bariatric Surgery
Bile Duct Cancer
Celiac Disease
Colon Cancer
Colonoscopy
Common Gastroenterology Conditions
Diagnostic Laparoscopy
Gallstone
Gastroenteritis
GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease)
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Irritable Bowel Disease
Obesity
Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatitis
Radiofrequency Ablation
Rectal Cancer
Stomach Cancer
Ulcerative Colitis
Clinical Trials
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Latest News
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UAB celebrates milestone with 3,000 adult liver transplants
September 26, 2024
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UAB Hospital continues to be the best hospital in Alabama, Birmingham metro, according to U.S. News & World Report
July 16, 2024
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UAB to offer free colonoscopy screenings to under- and uninsured for second consecutive year
May 21, 2024
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UAB HHT Clinic named Center of Excellence
July 11, 2023
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UAB surpasses 20,000 robotic surgeries milestone, looks to future of continued surgical care
April 28, 2023