Crohn's Disease

At Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital, we offer comprehensive care for Crohn’s disease in a convenient location. From diagnosis to treatment, we provide everything you need to manage your condition over the long term.

Crohn’s Disease Care at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital: Why Choose Us

Our expert physicians have decades of experience in helping people cope with Crohn’s disease. Our campus offers all the resources of a major medical center but at an easily accessible facility in West St. Louis County. We offer:

• Innovative treatments: We offer the latest biologic therapies (genetically engineered medicines) that reduce inflammation in your digestive tract.
• Sophisticated diagnostic capabilities: Our doctors can use advanced techniques to aid in diagnosis, including minimally invasive capsule endoscopy and single-balloon enteroscopy, which are usually found only in a large hospital setting.
• State-of-the-art operating rooms: Our surgeons can opt to use robotic surgery machines and other advanced technology in case your Crohn’s disease requires surgery.
• High patient satisfaction ratings: We were ranked No. 1 in Missouri for patient engagement according to Becker’s Hospital Review. Learn more about us and our recognitions.

What Is Crohn’s disease?

In Crohn’s disease, your body’s own immune system attacks the tissue of your digestive tract. Crohn’s disease can affect any tissue from the mouth to the rectum. It most commonly affects the small intestine and colon.

Crohn’s disease cannot be cured. However, it can be treated, thanks to a growing range of therapies, including surgery.

What Are the Symptoms of Crohn’s Disease?

Because many inflammatory bowel disorders share the same symptoms, it is important to get an accurate diagnosis of Crohn’s disease to begin treatment promptly. The signs and symptoms of Crohn’s disease include:

• Abdominal pain
• Abdominal cramping
• Diarrhea
• Unexplained weight loss
• Anemia
• Joint pain

Our expert gastroenterologists can distinguish Crohn’s disease from conditions with similar symptoms, such as ulcerative colitis or irritable bowel syndrome.

How Is Crohn’s Disease Diagnosed?

Our fully-equipped endoscopy suite enables physicians to perform advanced diagnostic procedures like single-balloon enteroscopy, which allows for highly accurate diagnosis using a minimally invasive technique.

Your physician may perform other tests and procedures to diagnose Crohn’s disease, including:

• Thorough medical history and physical examination
• Blood and stool tests
• X-ray
• Video capsule endoscopy (VCE), which provides images of your intestine via a small pill you swallow that is equipped with a miniature video camera
• Upper Endoscopy, in which a flexible, lighted scope is gently placed into your throat to allow your doctor to look at the lining of your esophagus and small intestine
• Colonoscopy to view the lining of your bowel

How Is Crohn’s Disease Treated?

Crohn’s disease requires lifelong management. It cannot be cured, but it can be treated using a combination of medication and surgery. At Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital, we offer:

• Access to the most advanced medications available: Our doctors administer drugs, including biologics (drugs made from biological sources that target your immune system) that reduce inflammation in your digestive tract.
• Opportunities to participate in clinical trials: Through our Washington University physicians, you may qualify to participate in a research study investigating new diagnostic or treatment options for Crohn’s.
• On-site infusion suite: We provide comfortable treatment rooms where you can receive biologic medications to reduce colon inflammation.
• Fully equipped operating rooms: If you need surgery to treat your Crohn’s disease, you can have it done right here.

Contact Us

For more information or to schedule an appointment with a gastroenterologist, call Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital at 314.542.WEST (9378) or toll-free at 844.542.9378.

We are conveniently located just one mile west of I-270 on Olive Blvd., at Olive and Mason in Creve Coeur, Missouri - a west county suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Get directions to our hospital.