UMC To Open $2 Million Endoscopy Suite

University Medial Center will open a $2 million Endoscopy Suite in December specializing in high-tech, minimally invasive gastrointestinal and pulmonary tests.

At 7,800 square feet, UMC's new Endoscopy Suite is roughly three times the size of the hospital's current endoscopy center, said Steve Goldschmid, M.D., medical director of the new facility.

"Its size and state-of-the art equipment will put it on the regional forefront for therapeutic endoscopy and it will greatly enhance our research into pancreatic, colon, liver and esophageal cancer," Dr. Goldschmid said.

Dr. Goldschmid, a gastroenterologist specializing in the endoscopic treatment of gastrointestinal disorders, came to UMC in September from Emory University in Atlanta with Thomas Boyer, M.D., director of the new Arizona Liver Institute at the UA College of Medicine. Both doctors will see patients in the new Endoscopy Suite, along with approximately 20 other university specialists.

Endoscopy relies on the endoscope, a pencil-thin, hollow tube with its own lighting and video system that allows physicians to see inside hollow organs such as the bowel and esophagus. Endoscopy has revolutionized medicine during the past 30 years, allowing many patients to avoid exploratory surgery and lengthy hospitalizations.

UMC's Endoscopy Suite will specialize in diagnostic tests involving the gastrointestinal tract and the pulmonary system of both adults and children. These tests include colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, endoscopic cholangiopancreatography (endoscopy of the bile and pancreatic ducts), endoscopic ultrasound, esophagogastroduodenoscopy (endoscopy of the upper gastric tract), liver biopsy, bronchoscopy and lung biopsy.

The facility will be ready for patients beginning Dec. 18.

(Meanwhile, Dr. Goldschmid will be appearing on a television series about mummies on The Learning Channel this month. While at Emory University he performed endoscopy on the Lady Tahat, a 3,000-year-old mummified Egyptian. The series, Unwrapped: The Mysterious World of Mummies, airs Dec. 3, 8 and 9.)

The following physicians will see patients in UMC's new Endoscopy Suite on the hospital's main floor. Their names are followed by their special medical interests:

Adult gastroenterology specialists

• Thomas Boyer, M.D., liver disease
  
• Ronnie Fass, M.D., esophageal motility
  
• Steve Goldschmid, M.D., endoscopic treatment of GI disorders
  
• Raymond Moldow, M.D., hepatitis C
  
• Sukhdeep Padda, M.D., pancreato-biliary endoscopy
  
• Richard Sampliner, M.D. Barrett’s esophagus and colon cancer prevention
  

Pediatric gastroenterology specialists

• Uwe Blecker, M.D., childhood obesity and infant nutrition, heliobacter pylorus
  
• Fayez Ghishan, M.D., intestinal disorders and liver disease
  

Adult pulmonology specialists

• Robert Barbee, M.D.
  
• John Bloom, M.D., valley fever and asthma
  
• Anthony Camilli, M.D.
  
• Russell Dodge, M.D., sleep disorders
  
• Paul Enright, M.D., pulmonary hypertension and asthma
  
• Steven Knoper, M.D., pulmonary hypertension
  
• Linda Snyder, M.D., obstructive airway disease and valley fever
  
• Stuart Quan, M.D., sleep disorders
  

Pediatric pulmonology specialists

• Mark Brown, M.D., immunologic aspects of pulmonary disease
  
• Theresa Guilbert, M.D., infant and childhood asthma
  
• Fernando Martinez, M.D., genetic epidemiology of asthma and asthma-related conditions
  
• Wayne Morgan, M.D., epidemiology of pediatric respiratory conditions
  

Surgeons

• Renu Sinha, M.D., laparoscopic and endoscopic surgery