Dr. Idan Levy is a gastroenterology and advanced endoscopy specialist

He is a senior physician in the gastroenterology department and Director of the Endoscopic Innovation Service at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer.

Dr. Levy has comprehensive and extensive experience in the field of advanced endoscopy, and vast experience in advanced endoscopic procedures.

Dr. Levy is a consultant and partner in several start-up companies in the field of endoscopic innovation and is involved in innovation processes at ABC in Sheba.

A broad based education, extensive experience and at times "out of the box" thinking, makes a consultation appointment most important both in order to diagnose the problem as well as in order to suggest diagnostic and treatment approaches. Even an endoscopic examination, important as it may be, is not necessarily sufficient, and therefore cannot replace a fact-to-face meeting with a specialist.

Most often, the endoscopic examination is an assistive medium and complements the visit to the clinic. The diagnosis is often made based on an in-depth and comprehensive conversation with the patient, a physical examination, and is also based on the various assistive means such as lab tests, imaging, past and future endoscopies.

Therefore, in order to make the meeting effective and productive it is important to have all the relevant medical information before the meeting, including previous endoscopies, imaging results, lab test results, and the previous physicians' summaries.

Should an endoscopic examination be suggested, the indications for the test, the existing alternative, their benefits and disadvantages as well as the risks involved in the examination will be explained. If a biopsy is taken during the examination, the results will be sent along with explanations and instructions for future care.

The endoscopic examination and biopsy results often assist in the diagnosis and treatment of the problem.

All of this is carried out with a sensitive, considerate and empathetic approach.