January 19, 2024 – A specialized procedure southern West Virginia residents were previously forced to travel hours away to receive, is now available at Beckley ARH Hospital.

Dr. Sardar Musa Shah-Khan, an interventional gastroenterologist at the hospital, performed southern West Virginia’s first Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS) Wednesday morning.

The offering, according to Dr. Shah-Khan and Beckley ARH COO Beau Masterson, is the culmination of more than a year of planning.

“We’re extremely excited to offer this to our patients right here in Beckley,” said Beckley ARH COO Beau Masterson. “It means our patients won’t have to leave the community to receive advanced GI care.”

EUS, Dr. Shah-Khan explained, is a type of endoscopic procedure that uses a specialized ultrasound probe at the end of the scope. In addition to therapeutic procedures such as draining cysts and diagnosing and treating biliary issues, Dr. Shah-Khan said EUS allows for deep tissue biopsies for diagnosing and staging multiple types of cancers.

“It’s the gold standard for diagnosing pancreas cancer, especially,” he said.

Wednesday marked not only the first time an EUS was performed at Beckley ARH, but also the first time the service was offered in southern West Virginia and at any of ARH’s 14 hospitals.

The offering, Dr. Shah-Khan said, is a step in ARH’s mission to provide “more for Appalachia.”

“ARH is committed to offering cutting-edge treatments throughout the system,” he said. “Our goal is to offer the very best care to the patients of Appalachia. We want them to have convenient, timely appointments without having to travel for hours.

“We’re very excited to offer this to our patients here in Beckley and throughout all of southern West Virginia and eastern Kentucky.”