Procedures
World-Class Procedures in the Merrimack Valley
Our award-winning gastroenterologists in the Merrimack Valley provide GI services including colon cancer screening through colonoscopy and advanced non-surgical weight loss procedures for patients throughout Lowell, Andover, Lawrence, Newburyport, and surrounding communities.
With 2 week wait times at our two outpatient centers in Andover and Lowell and three hospital locations in Lowell, Lawrence, and Newburyport, we perform essential procedures such as colonoscopy and upper endoscopy, which are critical for the early detection and prevention of colon cancer, GERD, and other gastrointestinal conditions.
We are among the few groups in Massachusetts and New Hampshire offering minimally invasive weight loss procedures, including endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG), intragastric balloons, and gastric bypass revision treatments such as TORe (Overstitch). These non-surgical options help patients achieve meaningful weight loss without traditional surgery.
Gastroenterology Procedures
Small Bowel Capsule Endoscopy (Pill Cam or Video Capsule Endoscopy)
Endoscopic Weight Loss Procedures
Screening versus Diagnostic Colonoscopies
Screening colonoscopies and diagnostic colonoscopies are performed similarly using the same equipment. The difference is how the procedure is billed to your insurance. Billing will depend on your symptoms (or lack of symptoms) and what your doctor finds during the procedure. A colonoscopy is considered preventive screening if the patient doesn’t have any gastrointestinal symptoms and no polyps or masses are found during the colonoscopy.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) considers preventive services “essential health benefits” and requires insurance companies to pay all associated costs. That also means you won’t have to pay a copay or coinsurance for a screening colonoscopy. Since a diagnostic colonoscopy isn’t considered preventive, your insurance may require you to pay a copay or coinsurance.
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