Niagara Health’s Gastroenterology team performs up to 100 endoscopic procedures each day, ranging from preventative to life-saving. Endoscopy is a minimally invasive method where the gastroenterologist uses specialized cameras to examine the digestive tract. These procedures, unlike other imaging methods such as MRI scans, allow a specialist to interpret, diagnose and treat in real time. Thanks to our wonderful community of donors, the entire fleet of Niagara Health’s scopes and monitors was recently replaced with brand-new equipment.

“This is the most up-to-date technology on the market,” explains Dr. Neel Malhotra, Head of Service of Gastroenterology at Niagara Health. “It is new and cutting-edge. It has 4K resolution to visualize the insides of the stomach and intestine, which helps us find even the smallest lesions and catch things early.” The new equipment has thinner scopes for upper endoscopies that look into the stomach and longer scopes for colonoscopies. “With these new scopes, we can connect the cameras to carbon dioxide,” says Dr. Malhotra, who explains that the inflation of the digestive tract improves visibility. “It is really interesting because using carbon dioxide also helps provide patients with less cramping and pain, so the comfort level is much higher. We always strive to provide quality care for our patients, so to be able to send them home with little or no abdominal pain is really important to us.”

Dr. Malhotra and his team are incredibly grateful for your generous support of our local hospitals. “We are really lucky to have this equipment in the region. It enables us to find and detect abnormalities sooner. It improves our detection rate for polyps, allows us to remove larger polyps and reduces the chance of potential surgery down the road. It’s been a huge advantage for us, and I want to thank Niagara Health Foundation donors so much for improving the quality of care for patients in the region.”