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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Boasting four procedure rooms, 11 pre- and post-operating bays and waiting area, the redone endoscopy suite at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital made its public debut Thursday afternoon.</p><p>Hospital officials predict it will make a visit more aesthetic while expanding capacity. Revamped policies should make patient flow run smoother.</p><p>Generally not a topic of dinner conversation, endoscopy procedures have become an important part of patient screening and treatment. The procedures that can be performed in the new suite go beyond the well-known colonoscopy commonly used to screen for colon cancer in older people.</p><p>It can handle a host of more obscure-sounding procedures.</p><p>That includes looking through the throat, stomach and part of the small intestine via gastroscopy; checking the amount of stomach acid entering the esophagus through pH monitoring; measuring the effectiveness of esophageal muscles in moving food toward the stomach via esophageal motility exam; figuring out causes of constipation or incontinence via anal manometry; checking much of the digestive system with enteroscopy; the Bravo esophageal pH test that plants a small capsule to the wall of the esophagus to measure acid content and transmit findings over a day or two; stent placement; feeding tube insertion known as percutaneous gastroscopy; colon decompression for those with acute colon distention; examination of airways via a bronchoscopy; and the use of both endoscope and X-rays to diagnose and treat problems with the liver, gallbladder, bile ducts and pancreas known as endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Kathryn Bellino, RN and Wilkes-Barre General Hospital&#8217;s Endoscopy Clinical director, far left, takes colleagues on a tour Thursday of the hospital&#8217;s new endoscopy wing. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_WB-Gen-Hosp-Endoscopy-1-1-.jpg</photo0><caption0>Kathryn Bellino, RN and Wilkes-Barre General Hospital&#8217;s Endoscopy Clinical director, far left, takes colleagues on a tour Thursday of the hospital&#8217;s new endoscopy wing. </caption0><photoCredit0>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_WB-Gen-Hosp-Endoscopy-4-1-.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Shown are new beds utilized prior to a patient&#8217;s endoscopy at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital&#8217;s new endoscopy wing. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_WB-Gen-Hosp-Endoscopy-4-1-.jpg</photo1><caption1>Shown are new beds utilized prior to a patient&#8217;s endoscopy at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital&#8217;s new endoscopy wing. </caption1><photoCredit1>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_WB-Gen-Hosp-Endoscopy-2-1-.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kathryn Bellino, RN and Wilkes-Barre General Hospital&#8217;s Endoscopy Clinical director, left, stands in Endoscopy Room 3 along with Barbara Gillespie, Patient Access Admissions director. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_WB-Gen-Hosp-Endoscopy-2-1-.jpg</photo2><caption2>Kathryn Bellino, RN and Wilkes-Barre General Hospital&#8217;s Endoscopy Clinical director, left, stands in Endoscopy Room 3 along with Barbara Gillespie, Patient Access Admissions director. </caption2><photoCredit2>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_WB-Gen-Hosp-Endoscopy-3-1-.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Lisa Cernera, Wilkes-Barre General Hospital&#8217;s Surgical Services director, stands in front of a retrograde cholangio-pancreatography (ERCP) machine that will diagnose and treat problems in the liver, gallbladder, bile ducts, and pancreas combining the use of X-ray and endoscope. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_WB-Gen-Hosp-Endoscopy-3-1-.jpg</photo3><caption3>Lisa Cernera, Wilkes-Barre General Hospital&#8217;s Surgical Services director, stands in front of a retrograde cholangio-pancreatography (ERCP) machine that will diagnose and treat problems in the liver, gallbladder, bile ducts, and pancreas combining the use of X-ray and endoscope. </caption3><photoCredit3>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

WB General shows off advanced endoscopy suite