Medical Specialty Clinic
A graduate of Henry County High School in Paris, Dr. Ami Naik moved with her husband and baby daughter to Jackson to begin practicing gastroenterology in August 2008. She had just completed her fellowship in gastroenterology/hepatology at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Memphis.
She chose gastroenterology, which specializes in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and liver, for several reasons, she said. She knew she wanted to specialize in a field of internal medicine, she liked the balance between seeing patients and doing procedures, she was influenced by the “great academic faculty” at UT Memphis, and she knew there was a great need for female gastroenterologists.
Dr. Naik is board certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology.
Medical Specialty Clinic is at 27 Medical Center Drive, off Skyline Drive. For an appointment, call 731.424.1001 or 800.221.9603.
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Endoscopy Center offers convenience
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No need to suffer silently with hemorrhoids
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| Dr. Ami Naik removes hemorrhoids in the Skyline Endoscopy Center. With her is Medical Assistant Tamika McKinney. |
“There’s no sedation, no IV, and no pain.”
The new procedure, called CRH-O’Regan Disposable Hemorrhoid Banding System, is done at Skyline Endoscopy Center inside Medical Specialty Clinic.
“Hemorrhoids are enlarged veins in the rectal area, commonly caused by constipation, heavy lifting and pregnancy,” Dr. Naik explained. “Many people have them, but not everyone is bothered by them. Problems occur when the veins get engorged by pressure in the rectal area, especially for people who have constipation and stools that are hard to pass.”
The bothersome enlarged veins can be internal or external. It is the external hemorrhoids that cause pain, while internal ones can cause bleeding and irritation. “In fact, it is the sight of blood on the toilet paper or in the commode that causes many people to seek medical care,” Dr. Naik said.
“Most people first treat their hemorrhoids with over-the-counter products, such as Preparation H, Tucks pads and Anusol,” she said. “For most people that’s probably enough.”
“The internal hemorrhoids become a problem when they cause either constant or episodic bleeding,” she said. The new banding procedure at her clinic is designed to get rid of those internal hemorrhoids. “We treat internal ones with the banding procedure. As external hemorrhoids are part of the same venous plexus, this also reduces the size of any external hemorrhoids that may be present.” She refers patients with painful external hemorrhoids to a general surgeon.
Dr. Naik first diagnoses the condition with a flexible sigmoidoscopy (a partial colonoscopy done under sedation) or a full colonoscopy depending on the circumstances to make sure the patient has no anal fissures (or tears in the lining of the anus). “If anal fissures are found,” she said, “they must be repaired first.”
Internal hemorrhoids usually are in three bundles, she explained. “If one bundle is enlarged, all three probably are enlarged.”
That’s why the banding procedure is done over three different sessions, each two weeks apart.
The procedure is simple. “Patients need no prep ahead of time and no sedation,” Dr. Naik explained. “They can drive themselves to and from the procedure. There is no pain with this procedure. The patient may feel the sensation of mild pressure in the anorectal area, which resolves within a short amount of time.”
The physician inserts an anoscopy, a round plastic tube, into the anal area to evaluate the hemorrhoids. He or she then inserts a plastic applicator with a tiny rubber band at the end into the rectum and aims the applicator at the hemorrhoid. The physician pulls back on the applicator to create suction, releases the applicator, and the rubber band surrounds the offending hemorrhoid. If the patient feels any pain when the applicator is inserted and suction is applied, the physician simply re-angles the tube.)
“That’s it. That’s the procedure,” Dr. Naik says. The patient is monitored for about five to 10 minutes, and then is on his or her way back to home or work.
The rubber band cuts off the hemorrhoid’s blood supply. The hemorrhoid shrinks and the rubber band falls off within several days, usually unnoticed.
Dr. Naik and the other four gastroenterologists at Medical Specialty Clinic — Dr. Charles Hertz, Dr. Robert Hollis, Dr. Michael Ibach and Dr. Dan Kayal — received training on how to perform the new banding procedure and started offering it to patients late last summer.
“It is covered by most insurance companies,” Dr. Naik said.
Before it was available, physicians used an endoscope to band internal hemorrhoids, which usually was done under sedation, was quite painful and had a longer recovery period.
“With this new procedure, we can ensure the patient has no discomfort as we can monitor the patient’s response and adjust the amount of tissue that is being banded,” Dr. Naik said. “My hope is that with this new procedure, people won’t have to suffer silently with hemorrhoids.”
“Patients have been very satisfied.”