The Mount Sinai Hospital’s first patient was admitted on June 5, 1855 and was operated for (and cured of) fistula-in-ano.

Gastroenterology as a subspecialty began with the appointment of A. A. Berg, MD, as surgeon at The Mount Sinai Hospital, given his concentration on the alimentary tract.

An outpatient clinic was founded and devoted solely to gastroenterology diseases at Mount Sinai.

Eli Moschcowitz, MD, and A.O. Wilensky, MD, published a clinical and pathological study of intestinal granulomas.

Richard Lewisohn, MD, encouraged colleague A. A. Berg, MD, to perform the first subtotal gastrectomy for peptic ulcer in the United States.

The drip treatment for peptic ulcer was described by Asher Winkelstein, MD.

Dr. Winkelstein’s reports his groundbreaking finding at the Cleveland Meeting of the American Medical Association, which is the description of what is presently known as “peptic esophagitis.”

A dedicated research laboratory for the study of gastric secretions was established by Franklin Hollander, PhD, who originated the Hollander Test for completeness of vagotomy.

Dr. Hollander develops early ideas of the “mucous barrier” as a two-component, self-renewing system.

The first formal, organized ostomy support group in the world was formed at Mount Sinai by Albert Lyons, MD.

Henry D. Janowitz, MD, founded the Division of Gastroenterology in the Mount Sinai Department of Medicine.

The National Institutes of Health recognized the importance of Mount Sinai as a research center with a grant for gastroenterology fellowship training.

The first report of esophageal stricture in the B-ring treated endoscopically was made by Dr. Som, Dr. Wolf, and Dr. Marshak.

Dr. Henry D. Janowitz co-founded the National Foundation for Ileitis and Colitis (now known as the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation) to address the lack of patient education and support resources, and to fund research on Crohn’s disease and colitis.

Donald Gribetz, MD, and Burton Korelitz, MD, worked with Mount Sinai resident Michael Berger, MD, to report their findings of growth retardation in children with ulcerative colitis, and the effects of medical and surgical therapy.

Pediatric Gastroenterology as an associated subspecialty to the Division was created by Dr. Neal Leleiko, MD.

The seminal paper, “Treatment of Crohn's disease with 6-mercaptopurine. A long-term, randomized, double-blind study,” is published in the New England Journal of Medicine by Daniel H. Present, MD; Burton I. Korelitz, MD; Nathaniel Wisch, MD; Joseph L. Glass, MD; David B. Sachar, MD; and Bernard S. Pasternack, PhD, marking an important turning point in the history of treatment for Crohn’s disease.

“Cyclosporine in severe ulcerative colitis refractory to steroid therapy,” by Dr. Present, Simon Lichtiger, MD, Asher Kornbluth, MD, et al., as published in the New England Journal of Medicine, signals an important new modality for treating seriously ill patients facing urgent colectomy.

The successful inauguration of the first small bowel transplant program in the region takes place at Mount Sinai.

The National Institutes of Health grant is re-awarded as a combined gastroenterology/liver training grant, making Mount Sinai the only medical school in the New York metropolitan area with this award at the time.

The novel agent, vedolizumab, was approved by the FDA for the treatment of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. The FDA approval was supported by three landmark studies evaluating both ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD) patient populations in four clinical studies involving 2,700 patients in nearly 40 countries to demonstrate the drug’s efficacy and safety through randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials – GEMINI I (UC Trials I and II), GEMINI II (CD Trials I and III) and GEMINI III (CD Trial II). Drs. Bruce Sands and Jean-Frederic Colombel worked in collaboration with other highly renowned IBD specialists to deliver this breakthrough.

The first oral medication to treat moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease completes successful phase 3 trial and earns FDA approval. The study spanned 43 countries and 277 sites and enrolled patients 18 to 75 years old who had moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease for at least three months. Dr. Jean-Frederic Colombel is a corresponding author of the study and notes, “Upadacitinib addresses an unmet need in the treatment of Crohn’s disease and allows patients access to an oral medication that could put them in clinical and endoscopic remission. This therapy has the potential to transform the lives of individuals battling this chronic condition and offers a new hope for improved quality of life.”