Digestive Health

Each year, millions of Americans suffer from digestive health issues ranging from heartburn and irritable bowel syndrome to life threatening colon or pancreatic cancer. Our Gastroenterology and Endoscopy teams are highly trained and certified in the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of gastrointestinal disorders. Conway Medical Center is dedicated to providing our patients with compassionate care you can trust.

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The Endoscopy Center at CMC

The Endoscopy Center at Conway Medical Center is one of eastern South Carolina’s premier facilities providing a full range of gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures. Our board certified gastroenterologists, surgeons, and pulmonologists utilize the Endoscopy Center to perform procedures to diagnose and treat diseases of the gastrointestinal and respiratory systems.

Location
When reporting for a procedure in our Endoscopy Center, you will enter into our North Tower entrance. Registration for your procedure is on your left when you enter the building. After registration, you and your family members can wait in our spacious reception area.

For your safety, it is required that a responsible adult, 18 years or older, remains at the center during your procedure and drives you home afterwards.
About
Designed with quality, safety, privacy, efficiency and patient convenience in mind, this state-of-the-art facility utilizes the latest technology and operates with a highly trained support staff of nurses and endoscopic technicians to ensure the highest standards of patient care. Presently the department performs an average of 500 procedures monthly. To meet the needs of the community, the Endoscopy Department specializes in the examination and treatment of disorders of the esophagus, stomach, colon (large intestine), small intestine, liver, pancreas and lungs.

Coordination between the Endoscopy and Pathology Departments allows for “on site rapid read,” which assists the physician performing certain procedures in knowing they have obtained adequate tissue for diagnosis and staging. Based on microscopic findings, the physician can provide more information to the patient prior to discharge.

Patients with obstructive cancers can undergo stent placement in areas such as the bile ducts, small bowel and colon to relieve distention, jaundice and pain associated with this disease.

Our Digestive Health Services

Colonoscopy
A colonoscopy is a procedure that lets your doctor check the inside of your entire large intestine or colon. The procedure is done under light sedation using an endoscope which is inserted into your rectum and guided through the large intestines to look for abnormal growths (polyps), ulcers, tumors and areas of inflammation or bleeding. Your doctor may use the endoscope to treat problems that are found or remove tissue polyps for further examination.
Endoscopy
An endoscopy is a procedure to diagnose and treat problems in your upper gastrointestinal tract, including the esophagus, stomach and first part of the small intestine. This procedure is performed under light sedation, and involves your digestive health doctor inserting an endoscope into your mouth and throat. During an endoscopy your doctor can stretch narrowed areas, remove polyps, remove swallowed objects and treat some causes of bleeding.
Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS)
An endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) involves an endoscopy. An endoscopy is a narrow scope inserted into your gastrointestinal tract. This is not a surgery.

EUS uses a special tool with an ultrasound probe that can examine the walls of the GI tract and organs outside of the GI tract, such as the pancreas, liver and lymph nodes. You will receive sedation during the procedure so that you are comfortable and feel no pain. The procedure generally takes 20 to 40 minutes.

EUS is very useful in diagnosing and determining the stages of cancers in the esophagus, stomach, pancreas, rectum and certain lung areas. It is also used to evaluate chronic pancreatitis or other abnormal CT studies.

CMC Digestive Health was the first health care facility to bring this new technology to Horry County.
Endoscopic Retrograde Cholantgiopancreatography (ERCP)
Endoscopic Retrograde Cholantgiopancreatography (ERCP) is a procedure to diagnose and treat issues in your liver, gallbladder, bile ducts, and pancreas. While you’re sedated, your doctor will pass a thin, flexible endoscope through your mouth, esophagus, and through your stomach into your small intestine. Your doctor will examine these organs with the camera and then inject a dye into the pancreatic or biliary ducts and take X-rays.

During ERCP your doctor can also remove gallstones stones or insert stents to treat bile leaks or relieve obstructions. They can also take small samples of tissue for analysis.
Capsule Endoscopy
BRAVO Capsule Test
A BRAVO Capsule test is a pH monitoring study for patients who suffer with heartburn and regurgitation. This test can tell your doctor the amount of acid reflux you have and the length of time you experience it as you go about your normal activities.

The BRAVO capsule is inserted during an endoscopy. The small capsule is placed temporarily on the wall of your esophagus. It measures the amount of acid reflux you have over a period of time and that information is sent to a receiver that you wear.
Bronchoscopy