You may not need surgery. Here’s why

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Most people have heard of an endoscopy or a colonoscopy. What many don’t realize is that a scope can do far more than take a look around. As a gastroenterologist at Olympic Medical Center, I perform therapeutic endoscopy, and in simple terms, that means I fix things using a scope rather than surgery.

Therapeutic endoscopy allows us to treat a wide range of conditions throughout the digestive tract. In the esophagus, we can stretch narrowings that make swallowing difficult, stop bleeding vessels, and place removable stents to keep the passage open. In the stomach and small intestine, we can remove precancerous lesions and treat active bleeding. In the biliary system, we can remove gallstones and relieve blockages in the pancreas or bile ducts without a single incision. In the colon, we can remove large polyps that once would have sent a patient straight to the operating room.

One of the things I find most meaningful about this work is that a procedure that starts as diagnostic can become therapeutic on the spot. A patient comes in with reflux symptoms, and we find a near-complete narrowing in the small intestine. We treat it then and there. No second appointment, no surgery, no scar.

Surgery is sometimes the right answer, and we never hesitate to refer when it is. But when we can address a problem through a scope, patients benefit from faster recovery, no incision, and in most cases, no hospital stay.

It feels like a real win to have this kind of care right here on the Olympic Peninsula.