Department of Medicine

Gastroenterology Section

Section of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, is one of the best academic sections in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Aga Khan University. It offers state-of-the-art fellowship/residency training opportunity to aspiring physicians. Aiming to change the health care environment in the country, the section promotes both evidence-based and humanistic approaches to clinical decision-making in gastroenterology and haepatology.

Services

Gastroenterology section offers state-of-the-art inpatient services. It is the only centre in the country which provides 24-hour emergency endoscopic services for life threatening gastroenterological emergencies like acute lower and upper gastrointestinal bleeds. A fully equipped bleeding control unit with gastroenterologists, surgeons and radiologists is in service. The unit is dedicated for the control of gastrointestinal bleeding with a multidisciplinary approach.

The section provides high quality standard care for liver and pancreato-biliary diseases. It takes the responsibility of providing updated uniform care for liver cirrhosis and its complications. It is also a referral centre for interventional procedures like Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP); biliary and pancreatic duct stenting and stone removal; oesophageal, entral and colonic stenting and endoscopic ultrasound.

A dedicated team backed by a fully equipped Intensive Care Unit (ICU) provides round-the-clock care for critically ill patients with acute liver failure and gastrointestinal bleed.

A coordinated service in collaboration with radiologists and histopathologists is available to diagnose and manage a variety of liver diseases. The section of Gastroenterology offers modern treatment like Transarterial Chemoembolisation (TACE) and percutaneous ethanol injections for liver cancer patients.

An ever-growing list of endoscopic services is available for all types of diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopic procedures like gastroscopy, colonoscopy, polypectomy,
Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG tube placement) and foreign body removal. State-of-the-art equipment, faculty and ancillary staff is available round-the-clock.

Gastrointestinal Motility Disorders diagnosis laboratory and 24-hour pH monitoring are well established Motility services offered here. The Section is in process of establishing diagnostic and therapeutic options for functional ano-rectal disorders. Urea Breath Test (UBT), gastric accommodation studies and drinking test are latest additions. Efforts are under way to set up a liver transplant unit at the Hospital.

Research Activities/Programmes

The section is engaged in extensive research and on average handles twenty different research projects and research grants annually. The Section also publishes regularly in peer-reviewed publications in national and international journals. The Section organises several General Practitioner training programmes on various GI and liver problems and offers short term endoscopy training on specified expertise. As part of the training centre for the World Congress of Gastroenterology, the section is linked to eight other centres and video and other conferences are scheduled throughout the year. Key areas of research are functional dyspepsia, IBS, Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B and portal hypertension.

Educational Programmes/Undergraduate and Postgraduate Training

The section is one of the World Congress of Gastroenterology's eight training centres worldwide, which is an honour for the University as well as the country. Highly qualified and experienced faculty is associated with the section, which has contributed significantly to scientific research and training in the fields of gastroenterology and haepatology at national and international levels. The section also serves as the secretariat for the SAARC Liver Society and the Pakistan Society for the Study of Liver Diseases (PSSLD). The faculty represents the country at various international Gastroenterology and Haepatology forums regularly.

The section offers the largest fellowship training programme in the country and comprises of six fellows annually. On completion of three-year fellowship training programme, doctors are qualified to take FCPS in Gastroenterology (equivalent to the American Boards in Gastroenterology).

Gastroenterology Section Aga Khan University