Digestive Center

The Gastroenterology Center of Beijing United Family Hospital is one of the nine Centers of Excellence in the United Family Beijing region. Unlike conventional gastroenterology departments, the Center comprises physicians from gastroenterology, gastrointestinal surgery, and hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery. Its leaders are all outstanding specialists: the Center is headed by Professor Li Wen, former Deputy Director of Gastroenterology at the former 301 Hospital; team members include Professor Qian Jiaming, former Director of Gastroenterology at Peking Union Medical College Hospital; Professor Wang Qiusheng, former Chief Physician of Laparoscopic Surgery at Peking University People’s Hospital; and Professor Derek Anthony O’Reilly, a renowned Irish general surgeon. Bringing together leading specialists, the Center truly provides integrated medical and surgical care. Under the new “doctors revolve around the patient” consultation model, after arrival the attending physician coordinates with other specialists according to the patient’s condition and conducts a joint consultation, eliminating the fatigue and inconvenience of moving between departments.

The Center is also an international, open platform. Patients may choose consultation and surgery by United Family physicians, or nominate a preferred domestic or overseas expert; the department will help arrange the expert to come to United Family to provide care, fully embodying the core value of “patient-centered” care.

Scope of diagnosis and treatment The Gastroenterology Center of Beijing United Family Hospital provides, but is not limited to, the following diagnostic and therapeutic services, as well as emergency and inpatient care.

Esophageal diseases Esophagitis, esophageal cancer, esophageal stenosis, esophageal foreign bodies, achalasia of the cardia, etc.

Gastric diseases Peptic ulcer, gastric cancer, gastric bleeding, and various types of gastritis, etc.

Intestinal diseases Acute and chronic diarrhea, constipation, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, intestinal bleeding, intestinal tuberculosis, and various benign and malignant intestinal tumors, etc.

Early gastrointestinal cancer Endoscopic treatment of early esophageal cancer, early gastric cancer, and early colorectal cancer.

Hepatobiliary diseases Jaundice and ascites caused by various conditions; cirrhosis, liver cancer, hepatic encephalopathy, hepatorenal syndrome, drug-induced liver injury, alcoholic liver disease, fatty liver, autoimmune liver disease, hepatic cysts, liver abscesses, acute and chronic cholecystitis, cholelithiasis, common bile duct stones, biliary tract tumors, etc.

Pancreatic diseases Acute and chronic pancreatitis, and benign and malignant pancreatic tumors, etc.

Hematemesis, melena, and hematochezia Upper and lower gastrointestinal bleeding caused by various conditions, including hematemesis, melena, and hematochezia.

Intermediate- and advanced-stage malignant tumors of the digestive system Chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy for malignant tumors of the digestive system.

Specialized diagnosis and treatment Diagnosis and treatment of early esophageal, gastric, and colorectal cancer Gastric function four-test panels, chemical and electronic chromoendoscopy, and magnifying endoscopy can improve detection of early gastrointestinal tumors. Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) can also be performed for early tumors, greatly improving survival and quality of life.

Endoscopic treatment of hepatobiliary and pancreatic diseases Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is used for removal of pancreaticobiliary stones, dilation of benign and malignant pancreaticobiliary strictures, and placement of plastic and metal stents.

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (EUS-FNA) Endoscopic ultrasound examination and endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNA) of mediastinal tumors, gastric submucosal tumors, and biliary and pancreatic tumors.

Endoscopic treatment of bleeding from esophageal and gastric fundal varices Endoscopic band ligation, sclerotherapy, embolization, and precise endoscopic variceal devascularization (ESVD) can greatly improve rescue success and effectively reduce recurrent bleeding.

Endoscopic treatment of submucosal gastrointestinal lesions (full-thickness resection, EFTR) This is an endoscopic procedure involving intentional perforation that can remove deep submucosal tumors. Compared with laparoscopy and open surgery, EFTR causes less trauma, preserves organ integrity, and enables faster postoperative recovery.

Endoscopic stent placement for malignant esophageal and colorectal obstruction

Peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) for achalasia of the cardia

Diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic liver disease The team has long managed inpatients with acute and chronic liver disease and accumulated extensive experience in managing critically ill and severely ill patients, enabling standardized diagnosis, treatment, and comprehensive management.

Diagnosis and treatment of difficult and complex diseases With advanced medical equipment and a strong professional talent pipeline, the Center rapidly evaluates difficult diseases and provides individualized symptomatic treatment.

Diagnosis and treatment of small-intestinal diseases

Digestive-system examinations Gastrointestinal endoscopy under analgesia; capsule endoscopy.

Endoscopic gastrointestinal mucosal biopsy.

Histological examination of liver biopsy specimens.

Helicobacter pylori testing.

Esophageal pH and manometry testing.

Why choose us: 1. Concentration of experts The Center is headed by Professor Li Wen, former Deputy Director of Gastroenterology at the former 301 Hospital. Team members include Professor Qian Jiaming, former Director of Gastroenterology at Peking Union Medical College Hospital; Professor Wang Qiusheng, former Chief Physician of Laparoscopic Surgery at Peking University People’s Hospital; and Professor Derek Anthony O’Reilly, a renowned Irish general surgeon. The Center has 8 physicians with senior professional titles, 2 physicians with intermediate professional titles, and 1 Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. Its medical team is exceptionally strong.

2. Advanced equipment The Center has several Olympus 290-series electronic gastroscopy and colonoscopy processors with performance matching international standards, two endoscopic ultrasound processors, and multiple magnifying and electronic chromoendoscopes, enteroscopes, duodenoscopes, miniature-probe endoscopic ultrasound systems, and linear-array endoscopic ultrasound systems. It also has equipment for colonic irrigation therapy, 24-hour pH monitoring, esophageal manometry, Israel’s Given capsule endoscopy, and Israel’s Exalenz_BreathID C13 urea breath-test analyzer for Helicobacter pylori, meeting the diagnostic and treatment needs of common and difficult digestive-system diseases and enabling emergency rescue and treatment of acute, critical, and severe cases in this specialty. In addition, high-efficiency air-adsorption disinfection and purification units ensure clean-air management. Advanced endoscopic equipment and fully automatic endoscope cleaning and disinfection machines provide accurate leak testing and full-process leak protection. Endoscope reprocessing and infection-monitoring compliance rates are reassuring.

3. One-stop comfortable examinations Examinations are one-stop, and every examination is a “detailed examination.” Suspicious lesions are magnified and observed immediately, without another appointment for a “detailed examination.” Treatment is also one-stop: lesions treatable endoscopically are treated in the same session, without requiring the patient to be admitted again after awakening, repeat bowel preparation, or undergo subsequent polyp removal. Warm and attentive service is provided. Early gastrointestinal cancer screening uses magnifying gastroscopy and colonoscopy for detailed examination; each patient’s examination lasts more than 40 minutes, greatly improving detection of tiny lesions. The Center has excellent gastrointestinal endoscopy equipment, with an anesthesiologist providing continuous protection. Patients are examined while “asleep” (sedated) and have sufficient postoperative recovery time.

4. Outstanding technical expertise The Center can independently perform endoscopic diagnosis and treatment of multisystem and multiorgan diseases. ESD (endoscopic submucosal dissection), EUS (endoscopic ultrasound), POEM (peroral endoscopic myotomy), STER (submucosal tunneling endoscopic resection), ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography), and ERAT (endoscopic retrograde appendicitis therapy) have all reached teaching-level standards.

5. Combined use of two endoscopes According to the stage of each disease, the Center develops an individual treatment plan. For diseases beyond the indications for digestive endoscopic treatment, it provides combined laparoscopic–digestive endoscopic treatment and surgical treatment, with less invasiveness and faster recovery. It is truly patient-centered, applying individualized treatment methods according to the disease stage—genuine “customization.”

6. Humanistic care Patient-centered care addresses patients’ psychological, physiological, and social needs and aims to provide comprehensive, high-quality medical services.