Dr. Ayesha Cheema is a primary care doctor with Mercy Personal Physicians at Columbia. She offers experienced and thoughtful primary care for adults of Howard County.
Inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, includes disorders that cause inflammation of the intestines. IBD is treated at Mercy by expert gastroenterologists.
Named a Best National Hospital in Orthopedics by U.S. News & World Report, Mercy Medical Center is home to Orthopedics and Joint Replacement offering innovative joint, hip and knee preservation, replacement and treatment options.
Mercy offers emergency care on the Downtown Baltimore campus 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (410-332-9477) with access to a trained emergency medicine team, diagnostic services and consultations with specialists.
In case of an Emergency, Dial 911 and follow the instructions of the EMS (Emergency Medical Services) team.
Mercy Medical Center's downtown campus includes our Main Hospital - The Mary Catherine Bunting Center, McAuley Plaza and The Weinberg Center.
General visiting hours at Mercy are 11:00 am to 8:30 pm. Hours vary by floor, please check with the nursing staff or call 410-332-9555.
This 3D animation describes colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy, procedures used to view the mucosal lining of the lower gastrointestinal tract.
The doctors of The Institute for Digestive Health & Liver Disease at Mercy specialize in diseases of the colon. To help diagnose colon diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, collagenous colitis, and lymphocytic colitis, as well as colon polyps and hemorrhoids, our doctors may perform a colonoscopy. Colonoscopies are performed in our state-of-the-art, dedicated endoscopy suite.
A colonoscopy is an outpatient procedure during which the colon and rectum are examined from the inside. A colonoscopy helps to find ulcers and tumors so they can be removed. In addition, a colorectal cancer screening can be conducted using a colonoscopy.
A colonoscopy is performed with a thin tube, called a colonoscope, which has a light and camera at its tip. The colonoscope is inserted into the anus and guided through the colon. As the colonoscopy takes place, the camera transmits images of the inside of the colon to a monitor. During the colonoscopy, tissue samples can be collected for a biopsy and abnormal tissue growth, such as colon polyps, can be removed.
When a patient experiences symptoms such as abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, or changes in bowel habits, a colonoscopy can be performed to diagnose the cause of the symptoms. A colonoscopy, which takes approximately 30–60 minutes, generally is tolerated with minimal discomfort.
After feeling ill on New Years Eve, Barbara had a screening that revealed a cancerous tumor in her colon.
Dr. Richard Desi of The Institute for Digestive Health and Liver Disease, focuses on hepatology, a sub-specialty of gastroenterology that addresses the liver, gallbladder, pancreas and biliary tract.
Learn about ulcerative colitis - diagnosis and treatment - from the perspective of a Mercy patient.