Saint Luke's Crohn's and Colitis Center of Excellence

Saint Luke's Crohn's and Colitis Center of Excellence provides patients with personalized, focused, and comprehensive care for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). With a large footprint across Missouri, Kansas, and the Midwest, we are a single-point destination for quality IBD care.

Our team understands the complexity of this disease and provide a multidisciplinary care approach bringing together providers from across multiple specialties to personalize each patient’s unique treatment plan. 

Our team offers comprehensive support for patients both inside and outside the hospital. Our unified approach across care settings means every patient receives the highest standard of care. Our specialists coordinate care and assist inpatient teams when needed, ensuring seamless care.

Call 913-491-9100 to schedule an appointment.  

Conditions we treat

IBD includes disorders involving prolonged inflammation of tissues in the digestive tract:

• Ulcerative colitis: Inflammation along the lining of the large intestine, colon, and rectum.
• Crohn’s disease: Characterized by inflammation and sores (ulcers) in the lining of the digestive tract. It most commonly affects the very last portion of the small intestine but can also affect any part of the GI tract, including the colon.

We also treat other chronic inflammatory disease of the digestive tract, like colitis induced by immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Care team

Our dedicated IBD team at Saint Luke’s brings together a highly trained, multidisciplinary care team including:

• Board-certified gastroenterologists and a fellowship-trained IBD gastroenterologist
• Colorectal surgeons 
• Specialty pharmacists
• Nutritionists
• Ostomy care nurses
• Gastrointestinal pathologists 
• Additional specialists, such as rheumatologists, when needed. 

Our team helps coordinate the care you need, when you need it, and with the right specialists 

Treatment

Our IBD management experts educate patients, helping them better understand how to manage their condition and the importance of staying current with screenings. We provide patients with the highest standard of care according to the latest findings and advancements. Treatment involves avoiding and managing flare-ups and long-term maintenance with the ultimate goal of leading a normal, healthy life. Our experts design unique plans for each patient focused on their symptoms and needs. 

Chromoendoscopy: Cancer screening for patients with IBD

Our team offers the chromoendoscopy procedure, a colonoscopy technique that uses special dye stains to evaluate the inside lining of the colon. The dye helps the physician differentiate pre-cancerous areas from normal tissue. These areas are not typically seen during a regular colonoscopy. 

This technique is crucial to detecting early pre-cancerous changes for patients with increased risk of colon cancer, especially patients with primary biliary cholangitis or those who were found to have invisible dysplasia during a conventional screening colonoscopy.

What to expect

We aim to be a one-point destination for our patients. We educate and empower patients and ensure they receive the most up-to-date testing, education, and research-backed treatment plans. We recognize the challenges that can arise with travel to and from appointments and offer virtual visit options. 

At your first visit, you can expect:

• A comprehensive review of your health history. 
  • If you are a new patient, our providers will review outside records prior to your visit but may have follow-up questions. Our office will request these records, if not sent with your referral. In some cases, we may reach out for your assistance with this. 
• A review of currently available treatment options, based on your health history. 
• Discussion of the plan of care, including possible endoscopy to restage your disease if needed.