Digestive Health

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., January 30, 2023 — In its ongoing commitment to whole-person care, Hoag Digestive Health Institute has announced the opening of a new, comprehensive clinic that brings together a multidisciplinary team of experts who collaborate to provide a treatment plan tailored to each patients’ unique digestive health condition. Focused on managing chronic and … Read More

Did you know your brain and digestive system talk to each other? “The ‘mind-gut connection’ influences how you think and feel – and that communication is a two-way street,” said Elizabeth Raskin, M.D., surgical director for the Margolis Family Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Program within Hoag’s Digestive Health Institute. “Think of the marathon runner so … Read More

Type 2 Diabetes is a complicated disease. Put simply, it is a chronic and potentially dangerous condition that develops when the body loses its ability to process glucose, or sugar. But what causes it, what can prevent it and what can be done to manage it? That’s where things can get confusing. “While it’s true … Read More

Julie Engquist ties her shoes. She sleeps with just one pillow. She walks her dog. If these things don’t sound groundbreaking, you’ve likely never contended with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). But Julie had. For 10 years. “The pain and discomfort were overwhelming,” she said. “There were a few times where I thought I was having … Read More

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., November 14, 2022 — Hoag has recruited board-certified gastroenterologist Catherine Ngo, M.D., to head the Hoag Digestive Health Institute’s Motility Program. Dr. Ngo has built a reputation over the last decade as a compassionate, approachable and thorough physician with a strong background in motility. Gastrointestinal motility refers to the coordinated action of … Read More

Tamra Rose says she was overweight most of her adult life. But when her son turned a year and a half, and the scale tipped passed her delivery weight, Tamra had enough. She works at Hoag and had learned from a colleague that the hospital was opening a Bariatric Surgery Weight Loss Program. She had … Read More

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., July 19, 2022 — Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian has recruited innovative colorectal surgeon Elizabeth R. Raskin, M.D., as surgical director for the Margolis Family Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Program within Hoag’s Digestive Health Institute. Dr. Raskin comes to Hoag from University of California, Davis Medical Center, where she served as Chief of … Read More

Within minutes of their first meeting, Caitlin Houghton, M.D., said the words that Brittney Pisanelli, 33, had been hoping to hear for most of her life: “You have options.” “I started crying in her office,” Brittney said. “I had never been told that before. Someone wanted to help me. Someone wanted to help me function … Read More

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., May 5, 2022 — Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian is the first hospital in California to offer an artificial intelligence (AI) enhancement to patients receiving a colonoscopy. Using the GI Genius™ intelligent endoscopy module, Hoag’s physicians have begun putting the promise of AI to work in detecting polyps and other colorectal abnormalities with … Read More

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., March 28, 2022 — Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian announced that bariatric surgery specialist Adrian Dobrowolsky, M.D., will be director of Hoag’s new Bariatric Surgery Weight Loss Program. With Dr. Dobrowolsky as surgical director, patients will benefit from the expertise he has developed performing hundreds of minimally invasive bariatric surgeries throughout his career, … Read More