Our multidisciplinary team including physicians, nurses, health psychologists and nutritionists, work together to develop individualized treatment plans to improve your quality of life and get your disease under control. In addition to providing the highest quality of care, our team members are actively involved in basic and clinical research for people with inflammatory bowel disease to provide you with the most cutting edge treatments for inflammatory bowel disease.
How is inflammatory bowel disease diagnosed?
An accurate diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease is an essential step to choosing the best possible treatment plan. There is no single test that diagnoses inflammatory bowel disease. Our nationally recognized team of physicians uses the most advanced diagnostic endoscopic procedures and imaging techniques to accurately diagnose inflammatory bowel disease.
On your first visit, your physician will review your prior work-up and decide if further investigation is needed. Here at University of Minnesota Medical Center, we offer a wide array of minimally invasive diagnostic, endoscopic procedures including upper and lower endoscopy, capsule endoscopy (“pill camera”), deep enteroscopy, chromoendoscopy and MRI enterography or CT enterography. The combination of these endoscopic procedures and imaging tests help us determine the correct diagnosis and burden of the disease. This information is essential to design a personalized treatment plan.
Scheduling a visit: What should I do before my visit?
Before your visit, obtain reports of any prior procedures (colonoscopies, endoscopies or surgeries) and imaging reports (CT or MRI scans). If you have been seen by a gastroenterologist, obtain a report of that visit and send us those medical records. Our team aims to make patient education a priority. Please write down your visit expectations and any questions you may have. It is important to us that we meet your expectations and answer all of your questions. Our goal is to develop a personalized treatment plan to get your disease into remission the safest way possible.
What to expect on your first visit
On your first visit you will meet with the office staff to review your medications, allergies and history. If you sent your records ahead of time your physician reviewed them prior to your visit. Your physician will sit down with you to take a detailed history of your previous medical and surgical therapies. To assess your current disease activity, your physician will order the necessary blood tests and diagnostic endoscopic procedures, if you have not had any. With all of this information, your physician will work with you to develop a personalized treatment plan to get your disease under control.
We believe that inflammatory bowel disease affects all aspects of a person’s life. Using our team-based approach we will work to develop a personalized treatment plan for you.
