Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center said Oct. 9 that it has launched a gastroenterology program providing patients access to specialized care, leading-edge surgical techniques and advanced gastroenterology treatments.
Under the leadership of Dr. Lee F. Peng, chief of gastroenterology and hepatology at Jersey Shore University Medical Center (JSUMC), the academic medical center’s gastroenterologists specialize in conditions affecting the digestive system and work with a multidisciplinary team.
Advanced gastroenterology refers to a range of minimally invasive surgical treatments, endoscopic resection and “third space endoscopy,” designed to address various conditions affecting the gastrointestinal tract. This includes the liver, esophageal, pancreatic and colorectal cancers, liver diseases, and hepatitis, among other conditions.
In many cases, the advanced gastroenterology team works with Hackensack Meridian Health’s Department of Surgery team to provide treatments. Additionally, the surgical team’s specialists provide advanced minimally invasive procedures treating early stage cancers, severe GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), difficulty swallowing, and hernia repair, among others.
Gastroenterologist Dr. Douglas Weinstein, director of GI Motility, JSUMC, in collaboration with surgeon Dr. Seth Kipnis, director of Bariatric and Robotic Surgery, JSUMC, have been successfully treating patients suffering from gastroparesis with the novel technology gastric electrical stimulator therapy, made by Enterra Therapy.
Gastroparesis is a medical condition consisting of a partial paralysis of the stomach, resulting in food remaining in the stomach for an abnormally long time. It impacts many people of all ages and genders. The standardized prevalence of gastroparesis is 267.7 cases per 100,000 people.
Cara Morelli, 31, of Manalapan, is one of the first people to receive gastric electrical stimulator implantation at JSUMC.
“Last December, I thought I had a stomach virus. I couldn’t eat any food without becoming nauseous. This lasted for more than a few days and I wasn’t eating. When I saw my mom she said, ‘You look terrible, we’re going to the ED!’ ” said Morelli. “Soon, I was unable to eat or drink anything at all without vomiting.”
Cara was admitted to the academic medical center and was receiving Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) therapy. It was the only way she was able to receive nutrition and water she needed to maintain her bodily function.
After trying many intravenous medications without any symptom improvement and confirming her bowels were not obstructed, Allied Digestive’s Monmouth Gastroenterology diagnosed her with gastroparesis and consulted Dr. Weinstein’s team for more advanced motility care. “Normally, the stomach contracts to move food down into the small intestine for continued digestion. The vagus nerve controls these contractions,” said Dr. Weinstein.
“Gastroparesis may occur when the vagus nerve is damaged and the muscles of the stomach and intestines do not properly function. Food then moves slowly, or in Cara’s case, stops moving through the digestive tract.”
“Obviously, I did not want to remain on TPN,” said Morelli. “After several conversations with Drs. Weinstein and Kipnis, and a successful temporary stimulator endoscopic trial, I opted to receive the stimulator therapy. They put me at ease, the surgery went well, and before long my symptoms almost completely disappeared.”
Electrical stimulation therapy uses a system of short pulses of electricity from an implanted device. Studies of patients receiving Enterra Therapy have shown decreases in GI symptoms, hospitalizations, the use of prokinetic medication (used to treat gastroparesis), and medical costs. “The therapy works by stimulating the vagus nerve and the built-in pacemaker cells of the stomach, which are responsible for gastrointestinal nerve and muscle, among other bodily functions,” said Weinstein.
