Digestive & Liver
Digestive and liver (gastroenterology and hepatology) care covers the esophagus, stomach, intestines, liver, pancreas and gallbladder. It treats conditions such as reflux, inflammatory bowel disease, gallstones, hepatitis, cirrhosis and digestive cancers, using endoscopy, imaging and laboratory tests to diagnose, and medication, minimally invasive procedures, surgery or transplantation to treat.
Medically reviewed by the Florence Healthcare medical team · Last reviewed June 2026
Overview
The digestive system breaks down food, absorbs nutrients and clears waste, while the liver performs hundreds of vital functions including detoxification and producing proteins. Disorders here are common and range from troublesome but benign conditions such as reflux and irritable bowel syndrome to serious diseases such as cirrhosis, pancreatitis and gastrointestinal cancers.
Endoscopy — passing a thin camera into the digestive tract — is central to both diagnosis and treatment, allowing doctors to take biopsies, remove polyps and treat bleeding without surgery. For liver disease, accurate assessment of liver function and structure guides whether medication, procedures or, in end-stage cases, transplantation is needed.
Patients with advanced liver disease or complex digestive cancers benefit from a remote review of their scans, endoscopy findings and blood tests before travel, so the appropriate pathway — including the possibility of living-donor liver transplantation — is clear in advance.
Common conditions we treat
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
Acid flowing back from the stomach into the esophagus, causing heartburn that can usually be controlled with medication or surgery.
Colorectal & digestive cancers
Tumors of the colon, stomach, liver or pancreas, where early detection through screening greatly improves outcomes.
Symptoms
- Persistent heartburn or acid reflux
- Abdominal pain, bloating or cramping
- Changes in bowel habits or persistent diarrhea or constipation
- Blood in the stool or black, tarry stools
- Difficulty or pain when swallowing
- Unexplained weight loss or loss of appetite
- Yellowing of the skin or eyes (jaundice)
- Nausea, vomiting or vomiting blood
- Persistent fatigue or abdominal swelling
When to seek care
Seek urgent care for severe or persistent abdominal pain, vomiting blood, black or bloody stools, or yellowing of the skin or eyes — these can indicate bleeding, obstruction or serious liver disease.
How we diagnose
- Upper endoscopy (gastroscopy)
- Colonoscopy
- Abdominal ultrasound, CT and MRI
- Liver function and other blood tests
- Endoscopic ultrasound and ERCP
- FibroScan and liver biopsy
How we treat it
Treatment is tailored to your diagnosis. Explore the procedures we offer for this area:
Where you'll be treated
Care for this area is led by our Gastroenterology.
Learn more
Plain-language, provider-reviewed articles on tests, procedures and symptoms in our Health Library.
Digestive & Liver — frequently asked questions
Gastroenterology covers the whole digestive tract — esophagus, stomach, intestines, pancreas and gallbladder — while hepatology focuses specifically on the liver and its diseases. The two fields overlap closely, and many specialists and centers treat both together.
Colonoscopy is recommended for colorectal cancer screening (commonly from around age 45–50, or earlier with a family history), and to investigate symptoms such as rectal bleeding, persistent change in bowel habits, unexplained anemia or abdominal pain. It can also remove precancerous polyps during the same procedure.
A liver transplant may be needed when the liver fails or is severely scarred (end-stage cirrhosis) from causes such as hepatitis, fatty liver disease or certain liver cancers, and other treatments are no longer effective. Both deceased-donor and living-donor transplantation are possible, depending on the case.
Gallstones that cause no symptoms often need no treatment. However, when they cause pain, inflammation or blockage, the usual and most effective treatment is keyhole removal of the gallbladder, since stones tend to recur if the gallbladder is left in place.
Hepatitis C is now curable in the great majority of patients with a short course of antiviral tablets. Hepatitis B is not usually cured but can be effectively controlled with long-term antiviral medication to protect the liver and reduce complications.
Yes. By sharing your endoscopy findings, scans and blood tests, specialists can provide an independent opinion remotely on the diagnosis and recommended treatment — including whether transplantation or surgery is appropriate — before you decide to travel.
Concerned about digestive & liver?
Share your reports for a free, no-obligation second opinion and a transparent cost estimate — usually within 48 hours.