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What is Gastroenterology?
Gastroenterology is the medical specialty that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of conditions and diseases which involve the various organs that make up the digestive system: the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, small intestine, colon, rectum, liver, gall bladder and pancreas. In Greek, "gastrus" means stomach and "enteron" refers to the intestine; hence the term Gastroenterology.
What is the role of the Gastroenterologist?
We look for various things that may cause or contribute to a person's symptoms or distress. External factors such as certain foods, medications or alcohol can create symptoms, as can emotional factors such as anxiety, depression, tension and stress. But our most important task is to find or rule out disease.
What tools do Gastroenterologists use to diagnose illness?
Gastroenterologists have many ways of evaluating digestive problems: physical examination, endoscopy, colonoscopy, x-ray, ultrasound, nuclear and CAT-scanning, liver biopsy, and a variety of blood tests.
What problems do Gastroenterologists diagnose and treat?
Of the many diagnoses we deal with, some are simple problems such as heartburn, swallowing difficulty, indigestion, abdominal pain, excessive gas, and chronic diarrhea or constipation. Other diagnoses are more
chal- lenging and risk complications, if not treated. These include gall stones, ulcers, viral or medication-induced hepatitis (liver inflammation), cirrhosis of the liver, pancreatitis, colitis, ileitis, diverticulitis, intestinal bleeding, polyps and tumors.
What methods do Gastroenterologists use to treat illness?
Once a diagnosis is made, specific treatment can be planned. Often this involves simple changes in diet or behavioral modification to reduce anxiety. Other diagnoses might require the use of medications such as antibiotics or acid blockers or anti-inflammatory agents. Some problems can be corrected with endoscopy (from above) or colonoscopy (from be- low) by cauterizing bleeding ulcers, removing obstructing gall stones, lasering small tumors or taking out colon polyps (for prevention of future colon cancer). Occasionally, the services of a surgical consultant are required.
Endoscopy & Colonoscopy Suite locations.
Our doctors utilize two state of the art facilities to carry out diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy and colonoscopy procedures:
Wayne Surgical Center
1176 Hamburg Turnpike, Wayne, NJ
973-709-1900
Chilton Medical Center
97 West Parkway, Pompton Plains, NJ
973-831-5115
The choice of location is based on each patient's health history and insurance plan benefits. The services of a Board Certified Anesthesiologist (M.D.) are used for administration of safe intra-
venous sedation throughout the procedure.
About our doctors
Robert D. Shlien, M.D. is a graduate of Cornell University and George Washington University School of Medicine. He served an Internal Medicine residency and Gastroenterology fellowship at the Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City and is currently a Clinical Instructor in Medicine (Gastroenterology) at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. Dr. Shlien is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a member of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the American College of Gastroenterology and the American Gastroenterological As- sociation. He is Board Certified in Gastroenterology and has published numerous articles in the field.
Lisa D. Stevens, M.D. is a graduate of Brown University and Cornell University Medical School. She obtained her Internal Medicine train- ing at New York Hospital, followed by a year as Chief Resident at the
New York University Downtown Hospital. Dr. Stevens completed a Fellowship in Gastroenterology at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. She is a Diplomate of the American College of Physicians and holds memberships in the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the American College of Gastroenterology, the American Gastroenterological Association and the New York Society for Gastro- intestinal Endoscopy. She is Board Certified in Gastroenterology and has published in the field.
Our office hours
Our office staff is available Monday through Thursday from 9AM to 5PM
and Friday from 9AM to 3PM to make patient appointments, arrange for diagnostic testing and answer billing or insurance questions.
We close each weekday during the Noon to 1PM lunch hour.
Each of our doctors' schedules varies from day to day, and may include office hours, hospital rounds, endoscopy and colonoscopy procedures, or medical conferences.
After hours
When our office is closed, one of our doctors or a covering doctor is always available for
urgent situations. By calling our "after hours" telephone number (973) 248-3214 an emergency
operator can forward a message to the on-call doctor. Routine questions or requests for pre- scription renewals will be held for normal weekday business hours.
Insurance and managed care plan participation
We participate in many insurance and managed care plans including Medicare, Horizon Blue Shield, PHCS, PHS, MagnaCare, US Healthcare, CIGNA and Aetna. Since many plans have specific requirements, you should check with your insurer to determine if a Pre-authorization Referral Form
must be obtained from your primary doctor
prior
to your visit. Be aware that you may be required to pay a
Co-payment at the time of your visit. You will also be responsible for any Deductible not covered by your insurance provider.
Our doctors welcome patients covered by insurors with whom we do not participate. We will work to minimize out of pocket expenses for those with "out of network" benefits.
Directions to our office
From North of Wayne: Take Route 23 South to the Jackson Road
jughandle in Pompton Plains. Cross Route 23 and drive to the traffic light at the end. Turn left onto Black Oak Ridge Road (Route 202 North) and go to the next traffic light. Turn right onto the Hamburg Turnpike. Drive 1/2 mile then, immediately after next traffic light, turn right into our parking lot.
From South and West of Wayne: Take Route 23 North to the Jackson Road exit in Pompton Plains. Exit right and drive to the traffic light at the end. Turn left onto Black Oak Ridge Road (Route 202 North) and go to the next traffic light. Turn right onto the Hamburg Turnpike. Drive one-half mile then, immediately after next the traffic light, turn right into our parking lot.
From East of Wayne: Take Route 202 South to the Hamburg Turnpike in Wayne by the CVS Pharmacy at the Pompton Falls. Turn left and drive about one mile. Immediately after second traffic light, turn
right into our parking lot.
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