GIST Specialist for Beverly Hills, CA
Joshua Ellenhorn, MD, FACS is one of the most experienced gastrointestinal stromal tumor surgeons in the United States, and his operating room sits a few minutes east of Beverly Hills at Cedars-Sinai. If a CT scan or endoscopy has turned up a GIST, you can have it reviewed by a surgeon who treats this tumor as a specialty rather than an occasional case.
- Clinical Professor of Surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
- Collaborative member of the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute
- Laparoscopic and robotic GIST resection when the tumor allows it
- Roughly ten minutes from the Golden Triangle
Why Beverly Hills Patients Look Beyond a General Surgeon
Beverly Hills is not short of excellent physicians. What it does not have, and almost nowhere does, is a surgeon on every block who has operated on gastrointestinal stromal tumors many times over. GIST accounts for well under one percent of gastrointestinal cancers. A capable general surgeon may encounter one or two in a career.
That gap matters more than it sounds. Whether a small gastric GIST can be removed with a wedge resection or needs a formal gastrectomy, whether the capsule can be kept intact laparoscopically, whether imatinib should come before the operation rather than after: these are judgment calls that improve with volume. Getting them right the first time is what protects you from a second operation later.
Most Beverly Hills patients arrive here after a gastroenterologist on Bedford or Roxbury finds a submucosal mass on upper endoscopy, or a CT ordered for unrelated abdominal pain shows something unexpected. Dr. Ellenhorn reads your own imaging and pathology personally, then tells you plainly what it means and whether an operation is actually the right next step.
What a Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor Actually Is
GIST grows from the interstitial cells of Cajal, the pacemaker cells embedded in the wall of the digestive tract that coordinate the muscle contractions moving food along. Because those cells sit inside the wall rather than on its inner lining, a GIST often bulges outward and can reach a substantial size before it announces itself.
Nearly all of these tumors carry a mutation in the KIT gene, and a smaller share in PDGFRA. Those mutations flip a growth switch permanently on. They also happen to be what makes GIST treatable in a way most sarcomas are not, because tyrosine kinase inhibitors were built to block exactly that signal.
Behaviour varies widely. Some remain small and indolent for years. Others grow quickly and spread, most often to the liver. Size, location, and mitotic index together predict which pattern you are dealing with, which is why an accurate reading of all three drives every decision that follows.
Symptoms Beverly Hills patients most often describe
- Bleeding into the digestive tract, seen as dark or tarry stools, vomited blood, or unexplained anemia on routine bloodwork
- Vague abdominal pain or pressure as the tumor presses on neighbouring organs
- Feeling full after only a few bites, or persistent bloating
- Nausea and vomiting if the tumor begins to obstruct the intestine
- Unintended weight loss or a palpable lump in the abdomen
Many GIST are found with no symptoms at all, during imaging or endoscopy ordered for something else entirely.
Confirming a GIST Before Anyone Operates
A GIST is usually first seen on a CT scan, a PET/CT, or an upper GI endoscopy. Occasionally the appearance is characteristic enough that the diagnosis is not seriously in doubt and a biopsy adds nothing before surgery.
When tissue is needed, the location dictates the approach. Because these tumors sit within the wall and not on the surface, a standard endoscopy may pass right over one. Endoscopic ultrasound solves that, letting the deeper layers be visualised and sampled safely without seeding the tumor.
Mutation testing on that tissue is not a formality. Whether the tumor is KIT driven, PDGFRA driven, or wild type determines which drug will work and at what dose, and whether medication before surgery could shrink a difficult tumor into an easier operation.
If you already have scans and a pathology report from a Beverly Hills gastroenterologist or oncologist, bring them or send them ahead. A second opinion on GIST is frequently the point at which a plan changes.
How GIST Is Treated
There is no single protocol. Tumor size, where it sits, how fast the cells are dividing, and whether it has spread all shape the plan, and so does what you want out of it.
Watchful Waiting
Very small gastric GIST with a low mitotic rate can reasonably be followed with periodic imaging rather than removed. Being told an operation is not needed yet is a legitimate outcome of a specialist consultation, and one many patients are relieved to hear.
Targeted Therapy
Imatinib, sunitinib, and regorafenib block the abnormal KIT and PDGFRA signal driving growth. They are used to shrink a large tumor before surgery, to reduce recurrence risk afterward, or to control disease that has reached the liver. They rarely cure a GIST on their own, so surgery usually still has a role.
Surgical Removal
Surgery remains the definitive treatment. Smaller tumors often come out laparoscopically or robotically as an outpatient or with a single overnight stay. Larger ones may need an open approach or removal of a segment of intestine. Where disease has spread to the liver, resection or ablation of those deposits may be worthwhile.
See the Operations, Performed by Dr. Ellenhorn
Few surgeons publish their own GIST work. These are recordings of actual resections, narrated by the surgeon who performed them, and they are the clearest answer to the question of whether someone does this often.
Laparoscopic Resection of a Gastric GIST
Removing a stomach GIST through small incisions, keeping the tumor capsule intact.
Gastric GIST Resection: A Simplified Approach
A technique refined over many cases to shorten both the operation and the recovery.
Robotic Resection of a Duodenal GIST
Duodenal GIST is among the harder locations. Robotic assistance allows precise removal while sparing the pancreas and bile duct.
Volume Changes the Answer
The difference between a wedge resection and losing part of your stomach is often a matter of technique and confidence, not tumor biology. Bring your scans to a consultation and find out which one applies to you before you commit to an operation.
Joshua Ellenhorn, MD, FACS
Dr. Ellenhorn is a surgical oncologist and Clinical Professor of Surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he is a collaborative member of the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute. He is widely regarded as one of the country's foremost surgeons for gastrointestinal stromal tumors.
His practice is deliberately narrow. Rather than covering the whole span of general surgery, he concentrates on complex abdominal cancers and on GIST in particular, which is how the technical detail in his published surgical videos becomes possible. Patients from Beverly Hills, greater Los Angeles, and out of state come specifically for that focus, often on the recommendation of their own oncologist.
He is a member of the Society of Surgical Oncology and the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and practises as part of the Surgery Group of Los Angeles.
Board Certified, Hospital Appointed, Peer Recognised
Before trusting anyone with an abdominal cancer operation, it is fair to ask what stands behind the recommendation. Here is the paperwork.
- American Board of Surgery, certified in General Surgery
- American Board of Surgery, certified in Colorectal Surgery
- California State Medical License
- Florida State Medical License
From First Call to Recovery
Send Your Records
Call (310) 356-3792 or request a consultation online. Forward your CT or PET imaging, endoscopy report, and pathology ahead of the visit so the appointment starts with answers rather than paperwork.
Get a Straight Answer
Dr. Ellenhorn reviews everything himself and explains what your tumor's size, site, and mitotic index mean for you. If the honest recommendation is monitoring rather than surgery, that is what you will hear.
Surgery and Follow Up
Minimally invasive resections are frequently same day or a single overnight stay. You will have a clear surveillance schedule afterward, coordinated with your Beverly Hills oncologist if targeted therapy is part of the plan.
Minutes From Beverly Hills, CA
From the Golden Triangle, take Burton Way east past Doheny, where it continues as San Vicente Boulevard, then turn onto West 3rd Street. From the flats south of Sunset, Beverly Drive or Robertson connect straight across to 3rd. Coming down out of Benedict or Coldwater Canyon, either road drops you onto Sunset and then south to 3rd in a few minutes.
The office sits in the medical plaza directly beside Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, which means imaging, pathology, and the operating rooms are all in one place instead of scattered across the city. Most drives from 90210, 90211, and 90212 take about ten minutes outside of rush hour.
Patients travelling from further out, including from Arizona and Nevada, can have imaging and pathology reviewed remotely before deciding whether to make the trip.
8635 W 3rd St, Suite 880W
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Monday to Saturday, 11:00am to 8:00pm
Closed Sunday
What Patients Say About Dr. Ellenhorn
Reviews left by patients treated by Dr. Ellenhorn at the Surgery Group of Los Angeles.
★★★★★I was very pleased with the office staff, they were always very pleasant and helpful. I was very impressed with Dr. Ellenhorn as well. He was very friendly and addressed all my concerns regarding my surgery and aftercare and follow up.
Terry Jackson
★★★★★The staff at the Surgery Group of Los Angeles are wonderful. They are kind, very attentive, the office is clean and I did not have to wait long at all. I cannot say enough great things about Dr. Ellenhorn. He is an excellent surgeon who is highly skilled and very knowledgeable. I cannot thank him enough for all he has done for my family and I.
Erika Frank
Frequently Asked Questions
How far is the office from Beverly Hills, CA?
Can I see Dr. Ellenhorn for a second opinion on a GIST?
Is GIST cancer?
Does every GIST need surgery?
Can a GIST be removed laparoscopically or robotically?
What is imatinib and will I need it?
What happens if my GIST has spread to the liver?
Do you coordinate with my oncologist in Beverly Hills?
How soon can I be seen?
Have a GIST Diagnosis? Get a Specialist's Read.
If you are anywhere in Beverly Hills, CA and a scan or endoscopy has found a gastrointestinal stromal tumor, have it looked at by a surgeon who treats this tumor as a specialty before you decide anything.
