The Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology is a division under the Department of Medicine and has been established since the hospital opened in 2012. Under the leadership of Professor Wai-Kay Seto, a Digestive Diseases (Internal Medicine) comprehensive center has been built, which integrates medical treatment, teaching and scientific research. It is now a sub-specialized center of standardized training for resident doctors of Chinese Ministry of Health as well as a sub-professional group of Good Clinical Practice (GCP) center certified by the National Medical Products Administration. Its senior doctors are recognized trainers for master degree (clinical diploma) of Shenzhen University and doctoral degree (clinical diploma) of Jinan University. Since 2020, it has become a postdoctoral cooperative training and practice base of Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The division is comprised of out-patient clinic (including Gastrointestinal Disease clinic, Liver Disease clinic, Colorectal cancer screening clinic and Inflammatory bowel disease clinic), specialized ward and endoscopy center. The division is staffed by 24 doctors (including 2 professors from Hong Kong), a total of 5 chief physicians, 4 associate chief physicians, 6 with doctor's degrees and 14 with master's degrees. Gastroenterology and hepatology specialists at HKU-SZH have extensive experience in managing patients with all types of digestive complaints. The nursing team consists of 2 head nurses (belonging to specialized ward and endoscopy center) and 20 nurses. The nursing staff is experienced and possesses special skill such as manual jejunal nutrition tube placement.

　　[Service features and advantages]

      Doctors in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at HKU-SZH specialize in diagnosing and treating digestive tract and hepatobiliary pancreatic disorders. These include conditions involving the esophagus, stomach, small intestine and colon and well as liver, gallbladder, pancreas. We also take the lead in establishing the "green channel" for the management of acute digestive tract bleeding with the accident and emergency department, ICU, interventional radiology and GI surgery. We have established high curative rate of acute pancreatitis of different etiologies.
We organize and lead the Multidisciplinary Discussion Group for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD-MDT), which enjoys a good reputation in Shenzhen and beyond. We have also become a member of IBD Alliance of the Guangdong Province.
We follow international guidelines in the treatment of Helicobacter pylori. We perform H.p culture with antibiotic sensitivity testing to guide H.p treatment for patients who have repeatedly failed treatment regimen, introduce new therapy or refer them on to Queen Mary Hospital of Hong Kong.
     We follow the recommendations of international guidelines, and advocate the principle of "subtraction" for liver disease treatment. New drugs for treating chronic viral hepatitis (B, C) have been introduced, and we are the first hospital in Shenzhen to introduce DAA (direct antiviral agents) treatment drugs for hepatitis C. We work closely with specialists in obstetrics and gynecology to establish a complete process of diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of Hepatitis B virus infection during pregnancy in order to prevent mother-to-child vertical transmission. Patients with cholestatic liver disease or complex condition might undergo liver biopsy to establish definitive diagnosis. We set up a team including specialists in nephrology, interventional radiology and surgery for those patients, and work with them to provide personalized treatment plan such as plasma exchange and transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS). We provide whole-exon and WGS gene testing, family investigation, and medication guidance for patients with hereditary liver diseases.
     Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology at HKU-SZH is one of the largest endoscopic centers in Shenzhen with the newest endoscopic equipment. Each year, our staff members complete nearly 20,000 endoscopic procedures. These include upper endoscopy, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), colonoscopy, small bowel enteroscopy, and endoscopic ultrasonography. New endoscopic techniques include magnifying endoscopy, narrow band imaging (NBI), magnifying chromoendoscopy have been introduced to diagnose early digestive cancer, while mini-invasive procedures such as endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) and endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) have been used to treat early cancer of digestive tract. We have wide experience in endoscopic treatment of esophageal/gastric varices such as endoscopic variceal ligation and endoscopic sclerotherapy. The application of capsule endoscopy and enteroscopy provides a good examination method for the diagnosis of small bowel diseases such as unexplained gastrointestinal bleeding, small bowel Crohn diseases and tumors that were previously regarded as “blind spots” in digestive tract. In addition, Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreaticography/endoscopic sphincterotomy (ERCP/EST) are also available. The newly introduced Fibroscan instrument facilitates accurate clinical diagnosis of liver disease, and help to diagnose liver fibrosis earlier.

　　Medical advice

1.Service Hours of C13 Urea breath test for Helicobacter pylori:
8:00 A.M.-12:00 P.M.; 2:00 P.M.-5:00 P.M. Mon. to Fri.
8:00 A.M.-12:00 P.M Sat.
Before C13 testing, fasting and water restriction should be conducted for 4 hours. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) such as omeprazole, pantoprazole, rabeprazole should be discontinued at least two weeks prior to testing and testing should be performed at least four weeks after last bismuth/antibiotic use.

2.Liver function tests do not require fasting, but four hours of fasting is required for liver fiber tests.
3.Fibrotouch/Fibroscan requires 2 hours of fasting before detection.
4.The average waiting time for painless gastrointestinal endoscopy appointment was 12 weeks. The average waiting time for sedation/general gastrointestinal endoscopy appointment was 6 weeks.