Stephen J. Heller, MD

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Video: Dr. Heller

Stephen J Heller, MD, Attending Physician, Gastroenterology Interventional Endoscopist, Clinical Director, Barrett's Esophagus Program

The Gastroenterologists at Fox Chase Cancer Center

Attending Physician, Gastroenterology
Interventional Endoscopist
Clinical Director,
Barrett's Esophagus Program

Meet other members of the
gastrointestinal cancer treatment team.

Clinical Expertise:

Gastrointestinal Cancers

Certifications:

American Board of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology

I am pleased to join the staff of Fox Chase as a gastroenterologist and therapeutic endoscopist. I look forward to contributing to a faculty and medical center with remarkable focus and dedication. It is exciting to join an institution with a clear vision of its mission and a desire for growth. My previous position was at the Lahey Clinic outside of Boston, where I practiced for nine years and held a number of administrative roles including fellowship training director in gastroenterology. In my work at a general hospital I found the care of patients with cancer most rewarding. I got considerable satisfaction from assisting patients in coping with the challenge of their diagnosis, and when possible, I valued the chance to help patients with cancer live longer, better lives.

As therapeutic endoscopists, we also have the ability to intervene in precancerous conditions and early cancers, thereby preventing cancer from taking hold. At Fox Chase, with our unique patient population, access to state of the art technology, and the support and expertise of my colleagues, there will be ample opportunity to do so — for example in patients with premalignant disease of the esophagus, large polyps of the colon and rectum, and early tumors of the stomach.

Although technology is a vital part of what we do, there is nothing more important in the practice of medicine than the human interaction between clinician and patient, and I look forward to the opportunity to serve our patients, who deserve the very best that medicine has to offer.

Medical Education

MD, Columbia University, 1990

Residencies

Stanford University Hospital, Stanford, CA, 1991-1993

Fellowships

Fellow, Advanced Therapeutic Endoscopy, Wellesley Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, 1997-1998;
Fellow, Gastroenterology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 1994-1997

Honors and Awards

Lahey Clinic - Gastroenterology Teacher of the Year Award, 2000 and 2008

Professional Societies

American College of Gastroenterology
American Gastroenterological Association
American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
Massachusetts Medical Society
American College of Physicians, 1993-2007
International Association of Pancreatology, 1994-1997
American Medical Association, 1991-1994
California Medical Association, 1991-1994

Publications

Recent Publications

Heller SJ, Jacobs MB: A clinical review of Parkinson's disease. Hospital Physician 1994;30:30-4.

Heller SJ, Ferrari AP, Lichtenstein DR, Carr-Locke DL, Van Dam J, Banks PA: Stricture of the Main Pancreatic Duct and Islet Cell Tumors. Am J Gastroenterol 1996;91:147-9.

Chan AT, Heller SJ, Van Dam J, Carr-Locke DL, Banks PA: Endoscopic Cystgastrostomy: Role of Endoscopic Ultrasonography. Am J Gastroenterol 1996;91:1622-5.

Heller SJ, Van Dam J.: Endoscopic treatment of bile duct calculi in patients with gallbladder in situ: long-term outcome and factors predictive of recurrent symptoms. Endoscopy Around the World. Gastrointest Endosc 1996;44:640-1.

Heller SJ, Van Dam J.: Eradication of high grade dysplasia using 5-ALA and acid suppression: A (photo) dynamic duo. Selected Summary. Gastroenterology 1997;112:2156-8.

Heller SJ, Noordhoek E, Tenner SM, Ramagopal V, Abramowitz M, Hughes M, Banks PA.: Pleural effusion as a predictor of severity in acute pancreatitis. Pancreas 1997;15:222-5.

Eisen GM, Kim CY, Fleischer DE, Kozarek RA, Carr-Locke DL, Li TCM, Gostout CJ, Heller, SJ, Montgomery EA, Al-Kawas FH, Lewis HJ, Benjamin SB: High-resolution chromoendoscopy for classifying colonic polyps: a multicenter study. Gastrointestinal Endoscopy 2002;55:687-694.

Barto A, Heller S. Microscopic colitis. Postgraduate Medicine 2002;112:69-75.

Abstracts

Tenner SM, Heller S, Abramowitz M, Hughes M, Banks PA.: Laboratory parameters have limited value in establishing the diagnosis and etiology of acute pancreatitis. Pancreas 1995;11:450.

Heller SJ, Apstein MD, Shields SJ, Sharma AN, Syngal S, Donovan JM: Identification of colorectal adenocarcinoma is more common in surveillance after cancer resection than after removal of adenomas. Am J Gastroenterol 1996;91:1971.

Heller SJ, Syngal S, Wolf J, Banks PA, Lichtenstein DR, Wong RCK, Orfice M, Cialfi SA, Carr-Locke DL, Van Dam J.: Open-access flexible sigmoidoscopy (OAFS): Evaluation of patient compliance and appropriateness of referral. Gastrointest Endosc 1997;45:AB108.

Kim CY, Flescher DE, Kozarek RA, Carr-Locke D, Li TCM, Gostout CJ, Heller SJ, Montgomery EA, Al-Kawas FH, Avigan MI, Eisen GM, Lewis JH, Benjamin SB.: High resolution colonoscopy and chromoendoscopy for classifying colonic polyps: A multicenter study. Gastrointest Endosc 1997;45:AB110.

AM Stefan, GB Haber, S Heller, S Jonnalagadda, H Ter, GP Kendel, PP Kortan, NE Marcon: Ablation of columnar metaplasia of the esophagus using argon beam plasma coagulation. Gastrointest Endosc 1998;47:AB40.

H Ter, G Haber, G Kandel, P Kortan, S Heller, S Jonnalagadda, A Stefan, C Ross, M Cirocco: The long-term outcome of patients with watermelon stomach treated with argon plasma coagulation. Gastrointest Endosc 1998;47:AB41.

SJ Heller, G Haber, S Jonnalagadda, A Stefan, H Ter, C Ross, G Kandel, P Korton, N Marcon: Improvement in dysphagia is sustained after esophageal expandable metal stent placement. Gastrointest Endosc 1998;47:AB69

SJ Heller, G Haber, C Ross, S Jonnalagadda, A Stefan, H Ter, G Kandel P Korton, N Marcon: Prediction of survival in patients undergoing esophageal expandable metal stent placement. Gastrointest Endosc 1998;47:AB69.

AM Stefan, PP Korton, GB Haber, M Cirocco, S Heller, S Jonnalagadda, H Ter, GP Kandel, NE Marcon: Long-term outcome of pneumatic dilation in patients with achalasia. Gastrointest Endosc 1998;47:AB76.

SS Jonnalagadda, GB Haber, SJ Heller, A Stefan, H Ter, M Cirocco, C Ross, P Kortan. Choledochal cysts: outcomes following surgical and endoscopic therapy. Gastrointest Endosc 1998;47:AB118.

SJ Heller, G Haber, S Jonnalagadda, A Stefan, H Ter, G Kandel, P Kortan, N Marcon. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma masquerading as pancreatic stone disease in tropical calcific pancreatitis. Gastrointest Endosc 1998;47:AB137.