Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Originally from Southern California, Dr. Chiang spent part of his childhood in Taiwan before returning to the United States to attend college at Duke University. He went on to medical school at Columbia University and stayed for an Internal Medicine residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital. From there, he moved to Boston to complete gastroenterology and bariatric endoscopy fellowships at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, which offered the only formal bariatric endoscopy program at that time. While in Boston, Dr. Chiang earned a Master of Public Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He then spent a year at Jefferson, completing an advanced endoscopy fellowship before joining the faculty as an assistant professor in 2018.

Dr. Chiang is among the first physicians to perform endoscopic bariatric procedures (all of which are part of a medically supervised program, including lifestyle and dietary modifications):

• Intragastric balloon. Dr. Chiang places a fluid-filled balloon in the patient’s stomach, which promotes weight loss by providing a sensation of fullness and slowing stomach emptying. The balloon remains in place for six months before being removed endoscopically.
• Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty. With this minimally invasive procedure, Dr. Chiang uses an endoscopic suturing device to narrow the stomach into a sleeve. This mimics the result of a surgical sleeve gastrectomy without the need for surgery or overnight hospitalization.
• Weight regain after gastric bypass. As Dr. Chiang notes, “Many patients who previously underwent gastric bypass surgery suffer from weight regain years after the initial surgery. This often results from stretching of the ‘outlet’ where the stomach pouch is connected to the small bowel.” He uses an endoscopic suturing device to repair and narrow this outlet – often known as the Transoral Outlet Reduction or TORe procedure – thereby reinstating weight loss.

“These endoscopic options are especially attractive for patients who are not surgical candidates for whatever reason,” Dr. Chiang said. “They’re also ideal when a surgeon won’t go back in for a second bariatric surgery.” He frequently receives referrals from orthopedic surgeons with patients who need to lose weight before undergoing knee replacement.

In addition to bariatric procedures, Dr. Chiang performs a full range of advanced endoscopic procedures spanning the esophagus, stomach, intestine/colon, bile ducts, pancreas, and liver. Because of his obesity medicine training, he also can prescribe FDA-approved weight loss medications.

Alongside his clinical experience, Dr. Chiang is a trailblazer in the use of social media to educate, engage, and empower patients.

“I’ve always been a fan of social media,” he says. “Having grown up in this generation, I realized that patients don’t get most of their medical information from brief encounters in clinical settings. They’re searching for that from sources outside the clinic or hospital.”

Rather than fight that reality, Dr. Chiang embraced it. As @AustinChiangMD, he creates and distributes “snackable” content on a range of topics – from debunking misinformation to explaining treatment options and sharing highlights of life as a physician and professor. He has a strong presence across platforms (including Instagram, Twitter and YouTube) and is especially popular on TikTok, where his channel has more than 400,000 followers, more than 120 million views, and nearly 15 million likes.

“When I first started posting on TikTok, I never intended for my colleagues to see it. I intended it for the rest of the public,” Dr. Chiang recalls. “But my colleagues’ kids started to find me, and they would ask their parents, ‘Do you know this guy?’”

Thanks to hundreds of thousands of followers and extensive media coverage across local and national outlets, the answer to that question is increasingly a resounding “yes!”

To make an appointment, refer a patient, or learn more, visit Dr. Chiang’s clinical profile.

As the Director of Gastrointestinal Third Space Endoscopy, Dr. Schlachterman has unique training and experience in endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), POEM, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), among other procedures.

He is one of the most experienced physicians in the tristate area performing ESD – offering definitive diagnoses and tumor removal through organ-sparing procedures. Unlike endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), ESD can be used to remove tumors in their entirety to achieve definitive negative margins.

“ESD supports a multidisciplinary approach for early cancers throughout the GI tract, offering a minimally invasive option for esophageal, gastric, colon, and rectal lesions,” Dr. Schlachterman says.

After medical school, Dr. Schlachterman completed his internal medicine residency at Hahnemann Medical School/Drexel University and his gastrointestinal fellowship at the University of Florida. He also completed an additional one-year advanced fellowship at the University of Florida with Peter V. Draganov, MD, one of the internationally known authorities in ESD and third space endoscopy.

After Dr. Schlachterman joined Jefferson, the Division invested in his advanced training at the University of Colorado and the National Cancer Center in Tokyo, Japan, where he worked in high-volume centers with world-renowned experts. (ESD and POEM were first pioneered in Japan for the country’s high rates of gastric cancer and achalasia, respectively.) Through his training at these centers, Dr. Schlachterman acquired experience that gives him distinct advantages in treating his patients.

POEM offers patients with achalasia an alternative to Heller myotomy. Dr. Schlachterman also brought several other minimally invasive procedures to Jefferson: gastric POEM (G-POEM) to treat patients with gastroparesis, as well as Transoral Incisionless Fundoplication (TIF) and Antireflux Ablation Therapy (ARAT) to treat reflux disease. With these procedures, there are no external incisions. For POEM/G-POEM, there is only a small incision of approximately 1 cm within the mucosal wall. Patients can return home after a short observation.

At Jefferson, Dr. Schlachterman reached the 100th POEM milestone in less than two years, and he has been actively communicating and engaging with gastroenterologists, hepatologists, and surgeons within and outside Jefferson about the capabilities the Digestive Health Institute now offers.

“Advanced Endoscopy has made enormous progress in recent years, and we can help avoid surgery for many patients. Our outcome data show these advanced procedures are safe and patients are highly satisfied,” he explains.

He cites these as additional examples:

• Patients who require ERCP with a history of bariatric surgery can avoid surgery by having the EUS-Directed Transgastric ERCP (EDGE) procedure.
• Patients with walled-off necrosis (WON) following severe necrotizing pancreatitis can benefit from endoscopic necrosectomy using Lumen-apposing metal stents (LAMS). This procedure makes it possible to remove necrotic debris and fluid – avoiding the risks of open surgery and associated issues.
• Patients who experience gastric outlet obstruction and inability to eat from a pancreatic mass or small bowel obstruction can undergo another minimally invasive stenting procedure: Gastric-Jejunal LAMS bypass.

In addition to his clinical contributions, Dr. Schlachterman is involved in several research initiatives. These include a project with Philadelphia’s Chinese-American community to raise awareness about gastric cancer and tackle health disparities in this population. He continues to work closely with fellows, residents, and medical students to share his passion for clinical research and help “pass the torch” to the next generation of physician-scientists. Dr. Schlachterman recognizes the importance of continued education. He also values the opportunity to train the next generation of gastroenterologists and teaches fellows the most relevant GI procedures, with an emphasis on safety and expertise.

A native of the Philadelphia area, Dr. Schlachterman completed his undergraduate education at the University of Pennsylvania and spent years working in labs at Penn and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He still enjoys the process of tinkering to make a “better widget.” With a wife who is from Puerto Rico and children who were born there, Dr. Schlachterman is fluent in Spanish. He and his family enjoy hiking, biking, skateboarding, and traveling together.

To make an appointment, refer a patient, or learn more, visit Dr. Schlachterman’s clinical profile.