Digestive Health

Your digestive system includes your gastrointestinal (GI) tract—your mouth, esophagus, stomach and intestines—as well as your liver, pancreas and gallbladder. These organs work together to break down the food you eat, gathering the nutrients your body needs and discarding the rest.

If you experience problems with your digestive system, trust the experts at UNC Medical Center to accurately diagnose your condition and provide effective treatment to relieve your symptoms and make you more comfortable.

Compassionate Care From Top GI Doctors

When you choose UNC Medical Center for your digestive health care, you choose one of the top GI programs in the country. More than 97 percent of people we’ve treated in our GI procure units say they would recommend us to a friend.

At UNC Medical Center, you’ll receive care from board-certified physicians recognized nationwide for their expertise, clinical skills and dedication to patients. We have more physicians chosen by their peers as The Best Doctors in America® than other gastroenterology practices in the entire Southeastern United States. UNC gastroenterologists have written many of the national practice guidelines for digestive and liver diseases. They are training the next generation of gastroenterologists.

Specialized Training for Your Benefit

Many of our gastroenterologists have additional specialized training in areas such as:

• Advanced endoscopic procedures – Allow doctors to see and treat your digestive tract without surgery
• Esophageal disorders – Affect the tube that carries food from your mouth to your stomach
• Functional GI and Motility disorders – Caused by abnormal sensation and muscle contractions in the esophagus, stomach, small intestine or colon
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Liver diseases (hepatology)
• Pediatric gastroenterology

If surgery is included in your treatment plan, your gastroenterologist and gastrointestinal surgeon will work together to provide seamless, multidisciplinary care for your condition.

Nationally Recognized Specialty Programs

Find care for a broad range of digestive health conditions at UNC Medical Center. Our widely recognized multidisciplinary specialty programs include:

• The Center for Esophageal Diseases and Swallowing Disorders (CEDAS) – Provides the most advanced techniques and treatments for disorders affecting the esophagus
• UNC Center for Functional GI and Motility Disorders – Integrates physical and psychological factors in evaluating, understanding and treating complex disorders
• UNC Multidisciplinary Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease – Offers advanced care from adult and pediatric specialists, GI surgeons, a psychologist and specially trained nurses in an IBD program that’s among the largest and most highly regarded in the country.
• UNC Liver Center – Provides advanced care for people with chronic liver disease
• Center for Pancreatic and Biliary Disease (CPBD)

Learn more about gastroenterology and hepatology (liver) services at UNC Medical Center.

Finding the Best Treatments for You

At UNC Medical Center, you benefit from the knowledge and new treatments developed by our internationally recognized research and education efforts. We’re home to one of just 17 federally funded centers focusing on research in GI diseases.

If you’re eligible for a clinical trial, you may have the opportunity to receive new treatments not yet widely available.