Gastroenterology
For investigation of bowel symptoms and bowel cancer surveillance.
Colonoscopy
For investigation of oesophageal and gastric symptoms.
Gastroscopy
Comprehensive and personalised digestive health care
Your digestive health is our priority. We offer a range of investigative procedures to assist in the early detection of bowel cancer, along with conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's and colitis, diverticular disease, coeliac disease and reflux.
We provide comprehensive and personalised gastroscopy services. A gastroscopy can check what's causing your digestive symptoms, such as difficulties swallowing or pain when swallowing, indigestion, heartburn or stomach pain that does not go away.
This procedure allows us to directly examine the mucosa (lining) of the oesophagus, stomach and duodenum. These are common locations of many important gastrointestinal diseases such as reflux disease, hiatus hernia, oesophageal and stomach cancers, oesophageal strictures, stomach and duodenal ulcers and coeliac disease.
Gastroscopy requires the stomach to be empty to provide us with the best possible views. During gastroscopy, we are able to diagnose abnormalities by direct inspection and confirm the findings by biopsy and microscopic examination. We can also diagnose Helicobacter pylori which can lead to peptic ulcers and stomach cancer. Additionally, we can treat many disorders, such as strictures (narrowing) of the oesophagus by dilatation (stretching).
Diagnostic & Therapeutic Gastroscopy
Bowel cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in New Zealand, but it's also one of the most treatable when caught early. Screening plays a key role in detecting warning signs before they develop into something more serious. Our team offers thorough, personalised bowel cancer screening for patients referred by their GP or seeking a private consultation. Stewart Street Specialists has 7 accredited bowel cancer screening specialists on our team, so your health is in the best hands.
Some gastrointestinal cancers run in families. If a parent, sibling or child has had bowel or another GI cancer, or if colorectal cancer is more common across your wider family, it may mean your own risk is higher than average, and that earlier or more frequent screening is worthwhile. Certain inherited conditions, such as Lynch syndrome, can significantly raise this risk, and identifying them early allows us to put the right monitoring and support in place for you and your family members.
Our team can assess your family history, arrange any relevant genetic or diagnostic testing, and coordinate a screening plan tailored to your level of risk for you and, where appropriate, other family members who may also need to be assessed. Dr Teresa Chalmers-Watson, our regional lead for familial gastrointestinal cancer, has particular expertise in this area, including the management of Lynch syndrome and other inherited GI cancer syndromes.
Bowel Cancer Screening
Food intolerances are among the most common causes of gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhoea, bloating, wind and pain. Breath testing is a non-invasive way of determining whether you absorb the carbohydrates that can trigger these symptoms, and the results guide a trained dietitian in advising you about a low FODMAP diet.
We are the first group in New Zealand and the only group in Christchurch to offer comprehensive hydrogen and methane testing. Testing takes place over three days, and our gastroenterologists have many years of experience interpreting the results. This non-invasive test is the most effective way of determining whether someone absorbs carbohydrates (sugars) that can be triggers for IBS symptoms such as diarrhoea, bloating, wind and abdominal pain. Diagnostic breath testing can guide an appropriately trained dietitian to advise you about a low FODMAP diet.
Testing occurs over three days. Before each test, you must eat a low fermentable diet for 24 hours and have nothing to eat from midnight before the day of the test. On arrival, you will meet our testing staff who will explain the test in more detail and answer any questions that you may have.
Breath hydrogen is measured on arrival using a small handheld device. Next, a small drink of lactulose, fructose or lactose is consumed, and then the breath test is repeated every fifteen minutes for up to three hours. Measuring breath hydrogen is as easy as holding your breath for 15 seconds and then gently exhaling into the small breath testing machine. In 15% of patients, hydrogen is not produced, and methane needs to be measured as well. In these cases, we will ask you to blow into a self-sealing bag.
The information gathered from breath testing is only useful when it is interpreted by an experienced gastroenterologist and then acted on by a FODMAP diet-trained Specialist Dietitian. Professor Richard Gearry and Dr Jeffrey Ngu are Gastroenterologists with specific training in the interpretation of Diagnostic Breath Test results and work closely with the specialist Dietitians at Dietary Specialists to ensure the best results for patients. Diagnostic Breath Testing and dietary consultation are the perfect combinations to assess and manage your gastrointestinal symptoms, combining state-of-the-art testing with professional, highly trained and friendly Dietitians. We are New Zealand’s original low FODMAP centre. Contact us to find out more.
Diagnostic Breath Testing
24-hour oesophageal impedance & pH studies
Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease is very common, and can usually be treated with acid-blocking medication. When medication is not effective or not tolerated, or when anti-reflux surgery is being considered, a 24-hour study confirms the diagnosis and its severity. A thin catheter passed through the nose measures acidity in the oesophagus over 24 hours while you go about your day.
We are a Southern Cross Affiliated Provider for oesophageal pH studies.
Gastric Alimetry is a non-invasive assessment designed to help diagnose stomach problems. A soft adhesive array is placed on the abdomen, a baseline recording is taken, and gastric function is measured over four hours following a standardised meal. The results can provide a clear treatment pathway.
Gastric Alimetry
Pill Capsule Endoscopy
Capsule endoscopy is the best way to examine the lining of the small bowel. You swallow a pill-sized capsule containing a camera, which travels painlessly through the digestive tract transmitting over 50,000 images across ten hours. It is used to diagnose conditions causing abdominal pain, anaemia or diarrhoea, including Crohn's disease, small bowel tumours and polyps, and coeliac disease.
Small bowel capsule endoscopy allows a gastroenterologist to diagnose small bowel diseases that may cause abdominal pain, anaemia or diarrhoea including Crohn’s disease, small bowel tumours and polyps, coeliac disease and abnormalities of blood vessels (angioectasias). The test is painless and non-invasive, and you can go about your normal activities while it takes place. Our team has performed the largest number of small bowel capsule endoscopy procedures in the South Island.
This procedure allows us to directly examine the mucosa (lining) of the rectum, colon and terminal ileum (final part of the small intestine). These are common locations of many important gastrointestinal diseases such as colorectal cancer, colonic polyps, diverticular disease and inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis).
Colonoscopy requires the bowel to be cleared to provide us with the best possible views of the mucosa and is performed under sedation. During a colonoscopy, we are able to diagnose abnormalities by direct inspection and confirm the findings by biopsy and microscopic examination. Additionally, we are also able to treat some abnormalities such as polyps by removing them, thus reducing the subsequent risk of bowel cancer.
Diagnostic & Therapeutic Colonoscopy
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Ask your GP to refer you to one of our specialists, or contact us to discuss your options and arrange a consultation.
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Ask your GP to refer you to one of our specialists, or contact us to discuss your options and arrange a consultation.
