Digestive Care in Aventura, FL
- Achieve and maintain gut health
- Board-certified gastroenterology physician
- Telemedicine available
- Insurance or concierge packages
Improve your gut health with the guidance of a board-certified gastroenterology physician.
Digestive + Liver Solutions
Conditions We Treat
Nausea feels like you are about to vomit. Vomiting brings stomach contents back up. Either can occur with an infection, pregnancy, motion sickness, a medication side effect, a digestive problem, or another illness.
Your doctor will ask when the symptoms started and what seems to trigger them. Based on those answers, you may need blood or urine tests, an X-ray, ultrasound, CT scan, or upper endoscopy.
Replacing lost fluids and easing the nausea come first. Small bland meals, rest, and anti-nausea medicine may help. Severe dehydration can require IV fluids, and ongoing symptoms need treatment for the cause.
You may have fewer than three bowel movements a week, hard or lumpy stool, straining, or pain when passing stool. Some people still feel as though they have not emptied their bowels.
Your doctor usually starts with your symptoms, medical history, and a physical exam. Ongoing constipation may call for blood tests, imaging, colonoscopy, or tests that check how the colon and pelvic floor function.
More fiber, enough water, and regular movement are often helpful. Short-term over-the-counter products may also ease constipation. If it continues, your doctor may suggest prescription medicine, pelvic floor therapy, or rarely surgery.
Diarrhea means passing loose or watery stool, usually at least three times a day. You may also have urgency, cramps, belly pain, nausea, or trouble controlling a bowel movement.
Your doctor will ask how long the diarrhea has lasted and whether you have blood, pain, fever, or other symptoms. Stool tests, blood work, imaging, or colonoscopy may be needed.
Fluids and electrolytes help prevent dehydration. Some cases improve with diet changes or symptom-relief medicine; others need treatment for an infection or digestive condition. Severe, bloody, or lasting diarrhea needs medical care.
You may see blood on toilet paper, in the toilet, or mixed with stool. The blood can look bright red, maroon, or black. Rectal pain, pressure, or a change in bowel habits may occur too.
The color and amount of blood help guide the exam. Your doctor may use blood tests, a rectal exam, anoscopy, colonoscopy, upper endoscopy, or imaging to find where the bleeding started.
Care depends on the source, which could be hemorrhoids, a fissure, inflammation, an ulcer, a polyp, or cancer. Unexplained blood in the stool needs medical attention. Heavy bleeding or fainting is urgent.
Anemia can leave you tired, weak, pale, dizzy, short of breath, or aware of a fast heartbeat. Headaches and brittle nails are also possible. Slow bleeding in the digestive tract may not be visible.
Blood tests can confirm anemia and show whether iron is low. Your doctor may order stool testing, upper endoscopy, colonoscopy, or imaging to look for hidden bleeding or another digestive cause.
Treatment has two jobs: stop the blood loss and rebuild healthy blood levels. Depending on severity, care may involve oral or IV iron, medicine, an endoscopic or surgical procedure, or a blood transfusion.
Precancerous polyps and early colorectal cancer often cause no symptoms. When signs do appear, they can include rectal bleeding, lasting bowel changes, belly pain, unexplained weight loss, or iron-deficiency anemia.
Most adults at average risk start screening at 45. Stool tests and colonoscopy are common choices. CT colonography and flexible sigmoidoscopy are options too. Family history, inflammatory bowel disease, or inherited risk may mean starting earlier.
During a colonoscopy, a doctor can often remove precancerous polyps. If testing finds cancer, the stage and location guide treatment. Options include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy.
Stomach cancer may be silent early on. Later symptoms can include ongoing indigestion, discomfort high in the abdomen, nausea, poor appetite, weight loss, vomiting, anemia, or black stool.
The United States does not routinely screen adults at average risk. If your risk is higher, your doctor may recommend upper endoscopy with a biopsy. Testing for H. pylori may also be appropriate.
Follow-up depends on what the tests find. Medication can treat H. pylori. Stomach cancer care may include endoscopic removal, surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, targeted therapy, or immunotherapy, based on the stage.
Pancreatic cancer rarely causes symptoms early. Later signs can include yellow skin or eyes, pain in the upper abdomen or back, weight or appetite loss, pale or greasy stool, and new or worsening diabetes.
People at average risk do not need routine screening. If you have a strong family history or certain inherited conditions, your doctor may suggest special monitoring. This usually involves MRI/MRCP, endoscopic ultrasound, or both.
Any concerning finding needs review by a pancreatic care team. If cancer is confirmed, treatment depends on the stage. Options include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, or supportive care.
IBS looks different from one person to the next. The usual pattern is repeated belly pain with constipation, diarrhea, or both. Bloating, gas, mucus in the stool, and incomplete emptying are also common.
There is no single test for IBS. Your doctor looks at the pattern of symptoms, your history, and the physical exam. Blood tests, stool tests, or endoscopy can help rule out other problems.
The right plan depends on your main symptoms. Diet changes, exercise, stress management, targeted medicine, or gut-directed therapy may help. Some people try probiotics, although the benefit varies.
Belly pain may feel sharp, dull, crampy, burning, or hard to pinpoint. Nausea, tenderness, fever, bloating, or a change in bowel habits can offer clues about what is causing it.
Your doctor will ask where the pain is, when it started, and what comes with it. The workup may involve blood, urine, or stool tests, imaging, upper endoscopy, or colonoscopy.
Treatment is based on the cause and can range from fluids, diet changes, or medicine to surgery. Sudden severe pain, fainting, a rigid abdomen, ongoing vomiting, or pain with bleeding needs urgent care.
Bloating can make your abdomen feel full, tight, or under pressure. The abdomen may also look swollen. Gas, belching, rumbling, mild cramps, or a change in bowel habits can occur with it.
Your doctor will review your diet, medicines, bowel habits, and any other symptoms. Blood or stool tests, breath testing, imaging, upper endoscopy, or colonoscopy may be useful in some cases.
Eating slowly, staying active, treating constipation, and avoiding foods that clearly trigger symptoms can help. Some causes respond to medicine, digestive enzymes, or a tailored diet. Bloating that persists should be checked.
Heartburn and regurgitation are the classic symptoms of GERD. You may also have indigestion, belching, chest discomfort, a dry cough, sore throat, hoarseness, or trouble swallowing.
Symptoms and your response to treatment are often enough to diagnose GERD. If the symptoms continue, your doctor may investigate further. Tests can include upper endoscopy, reflux monitoring, or esophageal manometry.
Avoiding your own triggers, changing meal timing, and managing weight when appropriate can reduce reflux. Acid-reducing medicine is another option. GERD that persists or causes complications may need further testing, an endoscopic treatment, or surgery.
Hemorrhoids can cause bright red blood, itching, irritation, swelling, pain, or a tender lump near the anus. Internal hemorrhoids may push outward, while external hemorrhoids are more likely to be painful.
A doctor can often diagnose hemorrhoids with an external exam, rectal exam, and anoscopy. Sometimes the bleeding needs a closer look. Your doctor may then recommend sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy, especially when screening is due.
Fiber, fluids, and less straining often bring relief. Short-term topical products may help too. Hemorrhoids that do not improve may be treated with banding, infrared therapy, sclerotherapy, or surgery.
Dysphagia means trouble swallowing. Food may feel stuck in your throat or chest, and swallowing can hurt. Other signs include coughing, choking, drooling, regurgitation, hoarseness, or unexplained weight loss.
The tests depend on whether the problem starts in the throat or farther down. Your doctor may use a swallow evaluation, barium swallow, upper endoscopy with biopsy, esophageal manometry, or imaging.
Treatment depends on the cause. Some people need softer foods, swallowing therapy, reflux medicine, or endoscopic dilation. Surgery may help with certain structural problems. Muscle or nerve disorders need their own approach.
Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis can cause lasting diarrhea, rectal bleeding, urgency, belly pain, fatigue, fever, poor appetite, or weight loss. The symptoms and the affected part of the digestive tract vary.
Blood and stool tests are usually part of the workup. Colonoscopy with biopsies helps confirm the diagnosis. Upper endoscopy, CT, MRI, or capsule endoscopy may show the location and extent of inflammation.
Treatment aims to control inflammation and ease symptoms. This may involve anti-inflammatory or immune-targeting medicine and nutrition support. If medicine is not enough, or complications develop, surgery may be needed. The approach depends on the IBD type.
Viral hepatitis may cause no symptoms at first. When symptoms develop, you may notice fatigue, fever, poor appetite, nausea, belly pain, dark urine, pale stool, body aches, or yellowing of the skin and eyes.
Blood tests show which hepatitis virus is present and how the liver is responding. Depending on the type, your doctor may also check the amount of virus, liver scarring, or liver images.
Care differs by virus. Hepatitis A usually needs supportive care. Chronic hepatitis B may require monitoring or antiviral medicine, while hepatitis C is treated with antivirals. Vaccines can prevent hepatitis A and B.
An intestinal infection can bring diarrhea, cramps, nausea, vomiting, fever, or blood or mucus in the stool. The exact mix of symptoms depends on whether a virus, bacterium, or parasite is responsible.
Your doctor will ask about recent food, travel, illness, and symptom timing. A stool culture, antigen test, or molecular panel may identify the germ. Severe illness may also require blood tests or imaging.
Replacing fluids and electrolytes comes first. Viral infections usually need supportive care. Some bacterial or parasitic infections need targeted medicine, but not all bacterial infections need antibiotics.
Symptoms vary widely. You may have belly pain, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, fatigue, headaches, anemia, weight loss, numbness, or an itchy blistering rash. Some people with celiac disease notice nothing at all.
Celiac testing starts with antibody blood tests while you are still eating gluten. A small-intestine biopsy may follow. Doctors consider non-celiac gluten sensitivity only after ruling out celiac disease and wheat allergy.
Celiac disease requires a strict gluten-free diet for life, preferably with help from a dietitian. For non-celiac gluten sensitivity, the goal is the least restrictive diet that controls symptoms without causing nutrition problems.
The symptoms depend on what your body is missing. Possible signs include fatigue, weakness, anemia, shortness of breath, numbness, balance problems, bone or muscle pain, bruising, mouth sores, hair changes, weight loss, or diarrhea.
Blood tests show which nutrients are low. The next step is finding out why. Depending on the clues, your doctor may use stool tests, imaging, upper endoscopy, or colonoscopy to look for bleeding or poor absorption.
The missing nutrient may be replaced through food, pills, injections, or IV treatment. Your doctor will also treat the cause and repeat testing as needed, so the deficiency improves without unnecessary supplements.
Acute pancreatitis usually starts with sudden, severe pain high in the abdomen that may spread to your back. Nausea, vomiting, fever, a fast pulse, and a swollen or tender abdomen can follow.
Doctors usually diagnose acute pancreatitis from the pain pattern and high pancreatic enzyme levels. Ultrasound, CT, or MRI may be used to look for gallstones, complications, or another cause.
Most people need hospital care for IV fluids and pain control. Eating by mouth or through a feeding tube starts as soon as tolerated. Doctors also treat the cause, such as gallstones, alcohol, or medicine.
Chronic pancreatitis can cause repeated or constant pain high in the abdomen, weight loss, diarrhea, oily or floating stool, vitamin deficiencies, and diabetes. Some people have little pain or none at all.
Your doctor may use blood and stool tests, CT, MRI/MRCP, endoscopic ultrasound, or pancreatic function tests. These show how much damage is present and whether the pancreas makes enough digestive enzymes.
Treatment often starts with avoiding alcohol and tobacco. Pancreatic enzymes can improve digestion. Nutrition support, pain control, and diabetes care may also be needed. Blocked ducts, stones, or other complications may require endoscopy or surgery.
Most pancreatic cysts and IPMNs do not cause symptoms and turn up on imaging done for another reason. A larger or blocked cyst may cause pain, nausea, pancreatitis, yellow skin or eyes, or weight loss.
CT or MRI/MRCP gives doctors a closer look at the cyst. If something appears concerning or unclear, endoscopic ultrasound, cyst fluid testing, or a biopsy may provide more information.
Many low-risk cysts only need repeat imaging. A cyst that grows or develops high-risk features may need closer testing or surgery. The plan depends on the cyst’s type, size, and changes over time.
When the pancreas does not make enough digestive enzymes, stool may become oily, foul-smelling, or hard to flush. Diarrhea, gas, bloating, belly discomfort, weight loss, and vitamin deficiencies can also develop.
Your doctor will review your symptoms and pancreatic history. A fecal elastase stool test is commonly used. Blood tests can check nutrition, while imaging may help find the pancreatic condition behind EPI.
Pancreatic enzyme replacement is taken with every meal and snack to help digest food. Nutrition counseling and vitamin replacement may also be needed. Treating the pancreatic condition itself remains part of the plan.
