How is a gastroenterologist different from a surgeon who operates on the bowel?

Gastroenterologists are physicians who perform procedures. We do not cut open the skin or cut out part of the bowel. We perform gastroscopies and colonoscopies, where we insert a long tube with a camera into the gastrointestinal tract through the mouth or anus, for both diagnosis and management. For example, we are able to diagnose conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease or coeliac disease with biopsies, and can perform therapeutic interventions such as removing pre-cancerous polyps from your bowel or stopping an ulcer from bleeding in your stomach. If a chronic condition is diagnosed, such as inflammatory bowel disease, we guide your treatment and ongoing monitoring.