\u201cWe have comprehensive diagnostic options in terms of being able to offer nearly every modality to diagnose these disorders,\u201d Rezaizadeh says. \u201cAnd then we have a full team of specialists committed to and interested in these disorders. It\u2019s hard to find somewhere where they have a team of surgeons, a thoracic surgeon, a GI oncologist, a pathologist, and a radiologist specifically interested in this, all along with a taste and swallow center.\u201d<\/p>\n Access to all this expertise in one place can fast-track care for patients.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there’s somebody with constant throat clearing, throat burning, or changes in voice, I might say, before seeing me, go see ENT first, because they can do a laryngoscopy to help expedite their care and save them time,\u201d Rezaizadeh says. \u201cThen if ENT thinks they need to also see me, then they’ll refer to me and we try to get them in as soon as possible for evaluation.\u201d<\/p>\n Rezaizadeh has been with UConn Health for eight years. He joined the faculty in 2015 after completing UConn\u2019s Gastroenterology-Hepatology Fellowship<\/a>. He is uniquely trained in radiofrequency ablation and endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), two specialized procedures to remove lesions or potentially cancerous tissue from the esophageal wall.<\/p>\n \u201cPart of my passion is doing preventive medicine with screening patients with reflux for Barrett\u2019s esophagus, which is a precursor to cancer,\u201d he says. \u201cWe try to catch them in early stages so that we can prevent progression, and maybe ablate them as needed. That’s a major issue right now. Esophageal cancer is dramatically rising in incidence.\u201d<\/p>\n Mary Ellen Ferreria is a testament to that vigilance. About two years ago she started having trouble swallowing. A series of endoscopies would follow over the next several months, to dilate the gullet and try to find the cause of the recurring problem. But her food regularly would get stuck and she\u2019d have to induce vomiting. GI providers elsewhere told her they couldn\u2019t find the cause of the problem.<\/p>\n \u201cI went through this for like a year, and the only thing I could get down was milkshakes,\u201d Ferreria says. \u201cDr. R. kept insisting that there was something there with his biopsies. Luckily I had him. I still say he saved my life.\u201d<\/p>\n He sent her to Dr. Stefan Kachala, a thoracic surgeon affiliated with UConn Health\u2019s Esophageal Disease Center, for a robotics-guided procedure. That\u2019s when the cancer was discovered.<\/p>\n \u201cLucky for me it was stage one, and he got it all out robotically,\u201d Ferreira says.<\/p>\n That was in early 2019. After three months on a feeding tube, Ferreira gradually started making her way back to eating regularly. Subsequent endoscopies and CT scans have shown no signs of cancer.<\/p>\n Ferreira, 66, says she\u2019s now able to eat just about anything, \u201cas long as it\u2019s small bites and small meals.\u201d<\/p>\n Ferreria\u2019s esophageal cancer was preceded by a diagnosis of Barrett\u2019s esophagus. That was preceded by three decades of reflux, with regular consumption of antacids and heartburn medication.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not uncommon for people to just take over-the-counter antacids, and they don\u2019t realize that they\u2019re at risk for Barrett\u2019s esophagus,\u201d Rezaizadeh says. \u201cIt kind of becomes a backburner issue. They\u2019re not realizing that the antacid is not going to treat their Barrett\u2019s, that they need to be monitored endoscopically.\u201d<\/p>\n One of Rezaizadeh\u2019s objectives is to raise awareness that trouble swallowing is not a normal problem to have.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are people who have had some intermittent trouble swallowing here and there, and they don’t really pay close attention to it until they hit a tipping point where they can’t even eat,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to catch those types of patients earlier to establish a diagnosis and begin treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n Esophageal disorders range from frequent throat clearing to non-cardiac chest pain to cancer. Reflux and dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, are among the more common.<\/p>\n Another condition, eosinophilic esophagitis, or EoE, is the focus of a new clinical trial for which UConn Health has applied to be a test site. There are no Food and Drug Administration-approved treatments for EoE and there are relatively few active studies of it.<\/p>\n \u201cThe therapy and management for esophageal diseases such as reflux, motility disorders, Barrett\u2019s, eosinophilic esophagitis and even esophageal cancer screening have evolved significantly in the past decade,\u201d says Dr. John Birk<\/a>, chief of UConn Health\u2019s Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. \u201cHaving a focused program dedicated to treating these conditions will provide for better patient care.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Dr.](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/rezaizadeh-houman-20181114-encarnacion-8624-240x300.jpg\")
![\"Mary](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/ferreira-mary-ellen-202000723-encarnacion-2619-761x951-240x300.jpg\")