Disorders of the Throat and Esophagus
Presented by John Pandolfino, MD
Presentation Overview
Esophageal symptoms may consist of heartburn, regurgitation, dysphagia (the sensation that food is not traveling through the esophagus), chest pain, or even food impaction. The differential diagnosis for these common esophageal symptoms is vast and could be Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE), Obstruction, Motility Disorder, or Functional Esophageal Disorder.
Regardless of how a patient’s esophageal symptoms may present, all symptoms lead to an endoscopy (a nonsurgical procedure that uses a flexible tube with a light and camera to examine a person’s digestive tract). In this presentation, Dr. John Pandolfino discusses the providers’ approach to diagnose and treat a patient living with a disorder of the throat and esophagus.
About Dr. Pandolfino
Dr. Pandolfino is the Hans Popper Professor of Medicine and Chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. His career has focused primarily on studying the biomechanics of bolus transport and gastrointestinal motility as it pertains to gastroesophageal reflux and swallowing disorders. He currently is funded by the NIH to study GERD and Dysphagia pathogenesis and also receives funding from industry focused on the development of new technologies to investigate and treat gastrointestinal disorders. He also maintains a strong clinical practice and in the Esophageal Center at Northwestern which serves as one of the nation’s top referral centers for complicated esophageal diseases. He is active in multiple professional organizations and has a strong commitment to the editorial process as a member of the editorial board of multiple high-level Gastroenterology and Hepatology journals.
