UH St. John Medical Center: Answers for Your Gastrointestinal Questions and Obesity

Gastrointestinal issues affect some 20 percent of adults in North America. Obesity is also a question many Americans want to address.

University Hospitals St. John Medical Center presented a Community Health Talk on gastrointestinal questions the evening of April 25 at the Westlake Recreation Center.

Shaffer R.S. Mok, MD, MBS, addressed gastrointestinal problems like GERD (Gasro-Esophageal Reflux Disease) and bowel functions.

Leslie Shaw, RDN, PA-C, supported his insight with diet information.

Amani Munshi, MD, then presented on University Hospitals Bariatric Centers and options for weight loss.

GERD is a digestive disorder that affects the lower esophageal muscle between the esophagus and stomach. By allowing stomach acids back into the esophagus, this disorder causes painful heartburn and other symptoms. Dr. Mok can help diagnose this problem through a number of options appropriate to your problem. Treatment options may include dietary changes, pharmaceuticals, an anatomic correction or even conventional surgery.

Lifestyle changes include simple things like sleeping with your head higher than your midsection, avoid lying down for 3 hours after a meal and discovering your personal heartburn triggers.

A revolutionary anatomic correction is the Stretta procedure, where the esophageal passage is corrected through tightening the stomach junction. This minimally invasive procedure significantly reduces GERD symptoms, allowing the majority of patients to eliminate or largely decrease use of Proton Pump Inhibitors. Stretta is an outpatient procedure performed in less than 60 minutes, allowing patients to return to normal activities the following day.

Dietician Leslie Shaw reports that simply elevating the head of your bed, avoiding meals 2-3 hours before bedtime and losing weight all can help with GERD. It is important to watch your weight and keep it within the recommended parameters of a BMI (Body Mass Index). Shaw recommends the ‘Plate Method’ of dieting where vegetables take up one half of your meal presentation, with 25 per cent for protein and 25 per cent for starch. Acidic foods and citrus are also common GERD triggers.

University Hospitals offers three accredited Bariatric Centers, reports Dr. Munshi. A full spectrum of weight loss procedures are available with free nutritional counseling and nutrition programs available. More than one-third of Americans are obese and the UH Bariatric Centers are ready to help with a compassionate, personalized program.

Medical treatments include behavior modification, diet, exercise and medication. Other options include highly effective procedures like gastric bypass, a sleeve gastrectomy (where the stomach is reduced into a sleeve that accepts less food) and Intragastric Ballon that takes up space in the stomach to make patients feel full quickly. It is inserted orally.

These weight loss strategies are dramatic, seeing 50-75 per cent loss of excess body weight in the first two options and 24 per cent with the Intragastric Balloon.

All three speakers practice at the UH Digestive Health Institute at St. John Medical Center. Phone (440) 406-5500.

Dr. Mok may be reached at (440) 406-5500. His office is at 29101 Health Campus Dr., Ste 450, Westlake.

Dr. Munshi may be reached at (440) 827-5299. Her office is at 29101 Health Campus Dr., Ste. 450, Westlake.

All are ready to help you with a personal plan of care.