The Digestive Disease Centre offers the most advanced diagnostic and therapeutic technologies for each specialty
Diagnostic Radiology
MRI, CT-Scan, Ultrasound
Medical imaging is certainly one of the fields of medicine that has progressed the most over the last twenty years. These recent discoveries not only allow better diagnosis but also offer the possibility of early detection and follow-up of a large number of diseases of digestive origin. Hirslanden Clinique des Grangettes offers a state-of-the-art technical platform for dedicated digestive imaging (MRI, CT, ultrasound, etc.) and works with a team of expert radiologists in this field.
Interventional radiology
Biopsy, drainage, chemoembolisation
Interventional radiology is a "minimally invasive" diagnostic and therapeutic method. It allows access to a tumour target in depth by using the vascular network (arteries or veins) or by choosing a short and risk-free route through an organ (liver for example). These techniques are always guided by imaging (scanner, ultrasound), which allows us to see deep into the tissue without having to "open" the tissue by conventional surgery. Interventional radiology makes it possible, for example, to administer high doses of chemotherapy directly into a tumour, to destroy tumour tissue by increasing the local temperature and to insert prostheses into narrowed or occluded ducts. Equipped with a technical platform inaugurated this year, the Grangettes clinic now offers you the possibility of carrying out these interventions on site.
Gastroenterology
Gastroenterology is concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the digestive tract, in particular the oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon, liver, gallbladder, bile ducts and pancreas. Digestive diseases represent an important part of internal diseases. They affect 12-20% of the population, depending on the country.
Digestive endoscopy - the gastroenterologist's main diagnostic and therapeutic tool - has developed considerably in recent years. It is currently used to diagnose and treat lesions inside and outside the digestive tract, to remove stones from the bile duct and to place prostheses in digestive tumours, particularly oesophageal, gastric, colonic and pancreatic tumours.
Surgery
There are two main ways of operating on our patients, one being the classical open approach, by laparotomy, and the other being minimally invasive, by laparoscopy or robotics (Da Vinci).
Laparoscopy
This minimally invasive technique appeared in the 1990s and consists of placing 5 to 10 mm trocars in the abdominal wall through which the surgical instruments and a video camera can pass. The surgeon, who therefore no longer has direct contact with the abdominal cavity, visualises the abdomen on a screen and acts on the organs with the instruments through the trocars. This technique has been greatly developed and the majority of abdominal operations have become possible with these reduced incisions of 5 to 10 mm. Post-operatively, wall pain is reduced and the recovery of bowel function is faster compared to conventional open surgery.
Laparotomy
The classic technique in abdominal surgery is to make an incision in the abdominal wall and open the abdominal cavity. This allows surgeons to operate inside the abdominal cavity using their hands to operate the instruments. Such an approach requires an incision in the skin and wall of up to 5 to 10 cm. Post-operatively, the pain in the wall is controlled by medication and the bowel returns to normal function within a few days.
Radiotherapy
Curative or palliative
Radiotherapy plays an important role in the treatment of digestive cancers.
For curative purposes, depending on the location of the tumour and its volume, this technique (often associated with chemotherapy) is proposed before surgery, in order to reduce the volume of the tumour and thus facilitate the surgical procedure (cancers of the rectum and oesophagus for example).
It is sometimes the exclusive main curative treatment in the case of radiochemotherapy for anal canal cancers, or even in the case of pancreatic cancers.
Radiotherapy remains a therapeutic modality used for many digestive cancers and allows the best oncological outcome to be offered to the patient.
Oncology
Chemotherapy, immunotherapy
In recent years, significant progress has been made in the treatment of cancers, including tumours of the digestive organs (oesophagus, stomach, intestines, colon, pancreas, liver, gallbladder and bile ducts).
There are different types of treatment for malignant digestive tumours: firstly, the so-called "neo-adjuvant" and "adjuvant" treatments, which are intended for patients who are going to undergo or have undergone surgery to resect the tumour. The aim of this type of treatment is to facilitate the removal of the tumour (if performed before surgery) or to reduce the risk of recurrence (if performed after surgery).
There are also so-called "palliative" treatments for patients with metastatic disease of the digestive organ. The aim of this type of treatment is to stop the progression of the tumour and therefore prolong the patient's survival, while at the same time ensuring that the quality of life is improved.
These treatments are given in the form of chemotherapies, immunotherapies and targeted therapies. Chemotherapies are active against cancer cells and work by destroying them or stopping their multiplication. The combination of these treatments with chemotherapies reinforces the effects of the latter. Today, it is possible to perform molecular biology on cancer cells, which provides additional information to better target these malignant cells.
The Centre for Digestive Diseases has set up multidisciplinary meetings involving various specialists experienced in the management of patients with digestive tumours: oncologists, surgeons, radiologists, radiotherapists, pathologists, geneticists and nuclear medicine specialists. These multidisciplinary meetings are regularly scheduled, with the aim of reviewing all the examinations carried out and defining the most appropriate management for each patient.
Pathology
From a few cells or tissue biopsies, taken by the gastroenterologist or radiologist for example, the pathologist's role is to establish the precise diagnosis of a lesion.
The daily integration of molecular biology techniques makes it possible to provide objective prognostic criteria or to detect possible therapeutic targets. Thus, in constant collaboration with the various treating physicians (oncologists, radiotherapists, surgeons, gastroenterologists), the pathologist participates in the elaboration of the treatment so that it is the most adapted possible.
La Clinique des Grangettes propose également des services de soins continus et de soins intensifs, dans lesquels agissent notamment des spécialistes en anesthésie.