Endoscopic foregut surgery and interventions: The future is now
Kenneth J. Chang, MD, discusses advances in endoscopic treatment of esophagus, stomach disease in World Journal of Gastroenterology
January 10, 2019
Kenneth J. Chang, MD, is the executive director of the UCI Health H.H. Chao Comprehensive Digestive Disease Center.
UCI Health gastroenterologist Kenneth J. Chang, MD, has been honored for his career achievements in gastrointestinal endoscopy with the cover of the Jan. 7, 2019 issue of the World Journal of Gastroenterology. In his 40-page paper, Chang describes how endoscopic interventional procedures have advanced in the treatment of esophageal and stomach disorders.
“Foregut surgery is well established in treating conditions such as gastroesophageal reflux disease, achalasia, esophageal diverticula, Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal cancer, stomach cancer, gastric-outlet obstruction, and obesity,” Chang wrote. “Over the past decade, remarkable progress in interventional endoscopy has culminated in the conceptualization and practice of endoscopic foregut surgery for various clinical conditions.”
Chang describes lessons learned, technical considerations and future opportunities found in endoscopic treatments for GERD, achalasia, Zenker’s diverticulum, Barrett’s esophagus and early esophageal cancer, early gastric cancer and submucosal tumors of the stomach, gastric outlet obstruction and endo-hepatology.
Chang is executive director of the UCI Health H.H. Chao Comprehensive Digestive Disease Center, Vincent and Anna Kong Endowed Chair in GI Endoscopic Oncology and Professor of medicine and Chief, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, UCI School of Medicine. The H.H. Chao Comprehensive Digestive Disease Center is a 38,000 square foot facility in Orange, Calif. that is among the few in the nation dedicated to providing state-of-the-art care to patients with all digestive diseases, including disorders of the esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas, intestine, and colon and rectum.
An internationally recognized clinician and innovator with advanced expertise in gastrointestinal endoscopy, Chang holds five patents, developed and pioneered endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided fine needle aspiration (FNA) and EUS-guided fine needle injection (FNI), paving the way to interventional endoscopy and interventional EUS. One of the most widely used endoscopic device world-wide is the Barrx90 radiofrequency device, which bears the name “Chang Cap,” due to his advances. More recently, Chang’s focus has included the endoscopic treatment of conditions that predispose patients to cancer, specifically gastroesophageal reflux disease and obesity.
Chang is frequently invited to address physicians around the world about advances in the diagnosis and endoscopic treatment of gastroenterological conditions. He will provide the State-Of-The-Art Lecture on “Novel Approaches To Esophageal Endoscopy: What Does The Future Hold?” at the 2019 Digestive Disease Week conference in May 2019.
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