Gastroenterology And Hepatology

The Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Amrita Hospital, Kochi offers a wide range of specialized services and facilities. We have dedicated centers for liver diseases, pancreatic diseases, pediatric gastroenterology, swallowing and esophageal disorders, gastrointestinal haemostasis, and cancer detection and palliation. The department provides state-of-the-art diagnostic modalities, including endoscopy, motility studies, CT scans, MRI, ultrasound, and nuclear medicine tests. We also offer comprehensive services for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of various liver diseases, liver transplantation, pancreatitis, pancreatic cancers, and pediatric gastrointestinal problems. The department emphasizes patient education, research, and preventive strategies. The Gastrointestinal Haemostasis Center ensures efficient evaluation and treatment of gastrointestinal bleeding with a multidisciplinary team available 24/7. Overall, the department aims to provide comprehensive care and expertise in the field of gastroenterology and hepatology.

State of the art diagnostic modalities include:

• All forms of upper and lower gastrointestinal video-endoscopy
• Small bowel enteroscopy
• Motility studies
• High speed helical CT scans
• MRI (with facilities for noninvasive cholangio and pancreatography and MR angiography)
• Colour Doppler studies
• Endosonography
• Fluoroscopic imaging of the liver, gall bladder, bile ducts, pancreas and intestinal tract
• Intraoperative fluoro-radiology (image intensifier)
• Ultrasound
• Nuclear medicine facilities offer tests such as mebrofenin (HIDA), blood pool and Meckel's scanning and bone scans. 

Centre for Liver Diseases

The Centre for Liver Diseases offers comprehensive services to patients with acute, chronic, and end-stage liver diseases. The clinical core of the Centre for Liver Diseases consists of outpatient and inpatient consultations aiming at comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to a variety of liver diseases. 

Services

• General Hepatology inpatient and outpatient services
• Liver Transplant Evaluation and Post Liver Transplant follow up
• Diagnostic and Therapeutic (interventional) services
  Research
• Patient Education
• Screening and Prevention

Clinical areas provided by inpatient services

• Management of liver cirrhosis and its sequelae like hepatic encephalopathy, ascites, portal hypertensive bleeding, hepatorenal syndrome, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis.
• Management of acute and chronic hepatitis of different etiologies with state-of-the-art medical therapies.
• Treatment of Fulminant hepatic failure in a dedicated ICU area, in close co-operation with the Division of Liver Transplant Surgery.
• Liver Transplantation-pretransplant workup and post-transplant follow up.
• Multidisciplinary approach to the management of liver malignancies (primary or metastatic).

We coordinate and deliver the following diagnostic and therapeutic modalities in close co-operation with Radiology, the Centre for Laboratory Medicine, Liver Pathology and the Division of Liver Transplant Surgery:

• Endoscopic Facilities
• Ultrasonogram
• Lab facilities for clinical pathology, biochemical and virological work up
• Liver biopsy (percutaneous or transjugular) with complete histopathological staining including special stains
• Copper and iron quantification on liver biopsy specimen
• Hepatic vein pressure gradient(HVPG)
• Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA)
• Transarterial Chemoembolization (TACE)
• Percutaneous Aspiration/Drainage of liver abscess/hepatic cyst
• Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt (TIPS)
• Paracentesis with or without pigtail insertion
• Liver transplantation

Outpatient activities

State-of-the-art facilities for the complete diagnosis and management of whole spectrum of acute and chronic liver diseases, including:

• Viral hepatitis
• Alcoholic hepatitis
• Lifestyle liver disorders-Fatty Liver, Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH)
• Drug-induced hepatitis
• Autoimmune liver disease
• Cirrhosis of various etiologies
• Genetic abnormalities
• Metabolic disorders
• Hematochromatosis
• Wilson disease
• Primary sclerosing cholangitis
• Liver tumors, especially Hepatocellular carcinoma and Metastatic liver cancer
• Hepato-Biliary tuberculosis
• Liver abscess

Centre for Pancreatic Diseases

The Amrita Pancreas Clinic

The Pancreas Clinic offers comprehensive services by experienced pancreatologists with long track records for patients with acute and chronic pancreatitis, pancreatobiliary cancers and pancreatic cystic disease. We provide:

• Diagnosis, medical or/and surgical treatment on an outpatient as well as inpatient basis. 
• Unique hotline for our registered patients in case of an emergency.
• Latest diagnostic and therapeutic (interventional) services, and screening, including preventive strategies for cancer. 
• Personal care, counseling, patient education, psychological support and empowerment.

Supporting Services

• Multidisciplinary Pancreas Clinic includes pancreatologists and a pediatric gastroenterologist
• Quick access to other experts such as diabetologists, surgeons, and the services of a modern Radiology Department and a Metabolic Lab
• Dedicated services of a clinic coordinator, diet and nutrition experts, and trained medical sociologists available
• The clinic has been operating for 10 years with one of the largest pancreatic registries in India (1400 patients)

Diagnostic and Therapeutic Facilities

• Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), Multi-Slice CT scan, Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), pancreatic stenting, pseudocyst drainage, Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), Endoscopic ultrasound-guided FNA (EUS-FNA), celiac plexus block, and lithotripsy.
• Comprehensive management of alcohol-related pancreatitis, tropical pancreatitis, autoimmune, metabolic and drug-induced pancreatitis available.
• Pancreatic function testing and evaluation of idiopathic or unknown causes of pancreatitis offered.
• Distinctive Pancreatitis Care Program includes integration of clinical care, care for pancreatic diabetes and its complications, advice on diet and lifestyle, patient education and involvement in treatment decisions.
• Emphasis on patient quality of life, with a patient-oriented approach rather than a disease-oriented approach.

Management of Pancreatobiliary Cancers

• Diagnostic facilities available: Non-invasive tumour markers, endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and EUS-FNA, established imaging modalities.
• Non-surgical management options available, including biliary drainage and stenting.
• Evaluation and management of pancreatic cysts and cystic cancers offered.
• Support from experienced pancreatobiliary surgeons from GI Surgery with vast experience in hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery, including liver transplantation.

Paediatric Gastroenterology

The Paediatric Gastroenterology wing has been set up to provide efficient diagnosis and management of paediatric gastroenterological and hepatobiliary problems.

Endoscopy including upper and lower GI and ERCP, nuclear scans and endoscopic ultrasonography of paediatric patients are being routinely performed.

Centre for Gastrointestinal Haemostasis

Under a single roof at the Gastrointestinal Haemostasis Centre the availability of all advanced imaging techniques like Upper GI Endoscopy, Colonoscopy, Enteroscopy, CT Scan, MRI Imaging, On-table Enteroscopy, Angiography and Nuclear Medicine scanning ensures that a patient will not need to be shifted out of the hospital for any evaluation. We provide:

• Dedicated team of endoscopists, gastrointestinal surgeons, interventional radiologists, and vascular surgeons available 24/7 for treatment of upper or lower gastrointestinal bleeding
• Fully-monitored emergency ICU service and 24 hour endoscopic and surgical service for immediate control of massive bleeding
• Outstanding blood bank with capability to supply large volumes of blood components for patient resuscitation
• Availability of all investigational modalities in-house makes AIMS Centre for Digestive Diseases one of the best for evaluation of gastrointestinal bleeds
• Tertiary referral center for this pathology in the state of Kerala
• Patients with GI bleeding are resuscitated in the ICU if needed

Investigation for each patient decided through consultation between surgeon, interventional radiologist, and medical gastroenterologist.

Phone: 0484 – 2851225, 0484 -6681225, 7994999790 

Email: gastro@aims.amrita.edu