Plenty of us love to enjoy delicious foods of the holidays. Coming up soon, we have Thanksgiving and holiday dinners. To fully enjoy all future meals, contact our office for Barret’s esophagus treatment options.

Barret’s esophagus:

Last week, we shared the risks of Barret’s esophagus. As readers recently learned, Barret’s esophagus is a condition that your gastro doctor can likely treat. It is a condition where the flat pink lining of the esophagus becomes damaged by acid reflux.

This condition causes the lining to thicken and become red. As we know, the esophagus is the swallowing tube that connects the mouth to the stomach. In between the esophagus and the stomach, there is a critically important valve.

That crucial valve is called the esophageal sphincter. Over time, the esophageal sphincter may malfunction. When the sphincter fails stomach acids and chemicals damage the esophagus. This happens especially after eating acidic foods.

This damage is called GERD, or gastroesophageal reflux disease. Check out our last blog for the risks of letting Barret’s esophagus and GERD untreated. Now, let’s move onto what steps should be taken should you feel the symptoms align with your own.

Diagnosing Barret’s esophagus:

Do no put off seeing a gastroenterologist if you feel heart burn or acid reflux. Avoiding medical attention for such ailments will only increase symptoms and difficulty of treatment. In many cases, a gastro doctor will use an endoscopy to diagnose Barret’s esophagus.

In this procedure, a lighted tube with a camera at the end is carefully passed down the throat. It checks for signs of changing esophagus tissue. Normal tissues in the esophagus appear pale and glossy.

Typically, the tissues associated with Barret’s esophagus are red and velvety. The doctor may opt for a biopsy. In this case, a tiny sample of the altered tissue will be studied.

Diagnose Barret’s esophagus:

A pathologist, a doctor who specializes in examining tissue in a laboratory, determines the degree of dysplasia in the esophagus cells. It is best to always have two pathologists agree on the diagnosis because it can be difficult to diagnose dysplasia. At lease one of the pathologists should specialize in gastroenterology pathology.

Next time, we will share the different types of dysplasia. Check in with our office to be seen soon and schedule an endoscopy! Remember, do not wait as the symptoms may worsen.

Staff Writer