His Upper GI Tract

Chapter

Abstract

Upper gastrointestinal complaints such as heartburn, difficulty swallowing, and abdominal pain are common among men. These complaints may be due to uncomplicated disease or harbingers of more serious illness. Careful questioning and physical examination can help guide the diagnostic workup and initial treatment options. Upper endoscopy is often diagnostic and therapeutic for many disorders, but other tests may include radiography, ultrasound, pH monitoring, esophageal manometry, and gastric emptying studies. Most common upper gastrointestinal disorders can be medically managed. However, advanced endoscopic and laparoscopic procedures with low complication rates, short hospital stays, and durable results are now available for the management of refractory and complicated disease.

In this chapter, we discuss five of the common complaints and their associated diseases: heartburn and reflux, upper abdominal pain and discomfort, esophageal dysphagia, chronic nausea and vomiting, and bleeding. Using current guidelines and literature, we recommend initial diagnostic studies and therapies and review when it is appropriate to refer patients to a specialist.

Keywords

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) Dyspepsia Dysphagia Obesity Peptic ulcer disease Gallbladder disease Nausea Vomiting GI bleeding Esophageal dysmotility Cancer 
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of SurgeryStanford University School of MedicineStanfordUSA
  2. 2.Stanford University School of MedicineStanfordUSA

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