Gastroenterology Section is State-of-the-Art

The clinical speciality of gastroenterology is devoted to diseases affecting the digestive system. These include common medical conditions such as peptic ulcer and other acid related diseases; functional bowel problems; biliary diseases; liver diseases such as cirrhosis and hepatitis B and C; inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn's disease; and gastrointestinal cancers like stomach, liver, colonic and pancreatic cancer. Remarkable strides have been made in the scientific understanding of these diseases and modern gastroenterologists are able to offer a range of advanced diagnostic procedures and effective therapeutic remedies to patients suffering from such disorders.

L to R: Dr. Saeed Sadiq Hamid, Associate Professor, Dr. Wasim Jafri, Head of the Section, and Dr. Hasnain Ali Shah, Associate Professor, at AKUH's Endoscopy Suite.

Gastroenterology has been an important part of AKUH's clinical services from the very beginning and was formally organized as a section within the Department of Medicine in 1995. The Section is headed by Professor Wasim Jafri, who specialized in gastroenterology in the UK and also obtained advanced clinical training in liver diseases at the University of Miami, USA. Other members of the Section are Associate Professors Dr. Saeed Sadiq Hamid, trained in the UK and at the University of Texas, USA, and Dr. Hasnain Ali Shah, trained at the University of Edinburgh, UK.

Gastroenterology at AKUH offers ambulatory services, clinical consultation, inpatient care and specialized diagnostic procedures comparable to other leading hospitals in the world. In addition, important service innovations are planned. A gastrointestinal physiology centre will soon be ready to provide assessment of esophageal, pancreato-biliary and anorectal motility, 24-hour esophageal pH monitoring, and tests of intestinal absorption and gastric and pancreatic

function. Other service expansions will include endoscopic ultrasound and enteroscopy, which are advanced techniques for evaluating the fine structure of the intestines and their connections.

As with other clinical services at AKUH, teaching, training and research are key elements of the Section's activities. There are weekly academic conferences and an advanced clinical rotation for senior medical students. The Section also holds symposia and continuing medical education (CME) courses for the medical community which are popular and attract large audiences. AKUH gastroenterologists are also deeply involved in medical research on unsolved clinical problems in hepatitis B and C, liver cirrhosis, portal hypertension and inflammatory bowel disease.

An important academic obligation for any leading speciality clinical service is to train the specialists of tomorrow. AKUH Gastroenterology satisfies this obligation through its clinical fellowship programme in which doctors already specialized in internal medicine are enrolled in a three-year programme of sub-specialization in preparation for the FCPS examination in Gastroenterology.

Commenting on patient resources, Professor Jafri said, "Our section is proud to serve the patient community and their families. We provide state-of-the-art evaluation and treatment services and deliver quality patient care."

Dr. Hamid adds, "Our faculty is committed to leadership in education for our dedicated practising physicians, medical students, and allied health professionals. We seek to uphold the highest standards in training for the next generation of health care providers."

Dr. Shah stresses that the faculty is implementing the University's mission to expand the boundaries of medicine through research. He said, "We strive to continually advance our understanding of patient problems at all levels, and continue to introduce innovative, safer and more effective methods of treatment."