Deep Expertise in Small Bowel Care

Finding a center that truly specializes in comprehensive small bowel care is rare. The USC Small Bowel Center is one of the few. Our experts are leaders in the field, providing state-of-the-art treatments for common and complex disorders of the small intestine.

Our specialists are highly experienced in treating the wide range of disorders that can affect the small intestine. One common issue we treat is suspected small bowel bleeding (previously called obscure gastrointestinal bleeding), which has a variety of causes. It is often caused by blood vessel abnormalities such as angioectasias. Other causes include: benign or malignant tumors, such as small bowel adenocarcinoma and neuroendocrine tumors; polyps caused by intestinal polyposis syndromes; or inflammation stemming from celiac disease or Crohn’s disease.

Experts in Diagnosing Small Bowel Diseases

Referring physicians send their patients to us because we have specialized expertise and equipment for diagnosing and treating conditions specific to the small bowel. The small bowel is difficult to access and measures over 20 feet in length. Many of our state-of-the-art diagnostic tools for examining the small intestine are unique to our center.

We are experts in device-assisted enteroscopy (deep enteroscopy), including double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE), single-balloon enteroscopy (SBE) and spiral enteroscopy. These advanced, minimally invasive endoscopic procedures give us access to examine the entire small intestine, without the need for surgery. They can also be used for additional examination following a previous capsule endoscopy procedure.

These noninvasive procedures mean patients can return home the same day and with very low risk of complications.

State-of-the-Art Treatment for Small Bowel Diseases

In addition to using enteroscopy to examine and diagnose the small intestine, we can also use it to treat you at the same time. This eliminates the need for open surgery.

With enteroscopy, we can provide such nonsurgical treatments as:

• Assisting in preoperative surgical planning by applying tattoos to indicate lesions that need to be addressed during surgery
• Dilating and treating areas where there are benign small bowel strictures, often due to Crohn’s disease or prior surgery
• Endoscopically controlling bleeding caused by angioectasias, ulcers or tumors
• Endoscopically removing foreign objects from the small bowel, helping to avoid the need for surgery
• Performing biopsies to diagnose potential tumors, inflammatory bowel disease or unexplained bleeding
• Removing polyps from the small bowel, including in patients with Peutz-Jeghers syndrome or other polyposis conditions, before they can become obstructive

Why Choose Us for Small Bowel Treatment

• Centers specializing in small bowel treatment are rare. Our USC Small Bowel Center experts have the true breadth and depth of knowledge to treat the most challenging small bowel cases.
• Our exceptional capabilities to diagnose and treat small bowel conditions means we can provide you with the most advanced, personalized treatment that will give you the best possible results.
• We have vast expertise treating a high volume of patients with complex small bowel conditions.
• Our enteroscopic expertise allows us to both diagnose and treat obscure disorders of the small intestine in real time, all through noninvasive and minimally invasive procedures.
• You have access to multiple specialists when needed, including pathologists, radiologists, oncologists, surgeons, nutritionists and more.