EXPERT
Dr. Rodolfo Pigalarga, M.D.
Colon and Rectal Surgeon
My name is Rodolfo Pigalarga and I am a double Board-certified General and Colorectal surgeon with VHC Physician Group – Colorectal Surgery Division in Arlington, VA.
I was born and raised in Italy and I moved to the United States after obtaining my medical degree in 2002 from University' Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome, Italy.
I started my General Surgery Residency in Pittsburgh, PA at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and completed it at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital / University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in New Brunswick, NJ. I then attended my Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship in Orlando, FL at the Colon and Rectal Clinic of Orlando in 2012.
After starting my surgical career in South Florida and practicing in Miami, FL for several years, I moved to the DC area in 2019, and outside of work, I enjoy following FC Internazionale Milano and DC United football teams, jogging, playing tennis and spending time with my wife, Carolina, and my two children, Lia and Luca.
I always loved the colon and rectal surgical practice throughout my career because, despite being built around a very specialized set of knowledge and expertise, it allows me to perform both bread-and-butter surgeries, like same-day anorectal procedures and screening colonoscopies, and advanced abdominal surgery, such as robotic surgery.
It is a great privilege to be able to use my knowledge and skills to help patients with conditions that can be very embarrassing for them to share and have addressed by a "stranger" and I always strive to communicate with my patients in the most honest, open and empathetic way possible.
I was born and raised in Italy and I moved to the United States after obtaining my medical degree in 2002 from University' Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome, Italy.
I started my General Surgery Residency in Pittsburgh, PA at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and completed it at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital / University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in New Brunswick, NJ. I then attended my Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship in Orlando, FL at the Colon and Rectal Clinic of Orlando in 2012.
After starting my surgical career in South Florida and practicing in Miami, FL for several years, I moved to the DC area in 2019, and outside of work, I enjoy following FC Internazionale Milano and DC United football teams, jogging, playing tennis and spending time with my wife, Carolina, and my two children, Lia and Luca.
I always loved the colon and rectal surgical practice throughout my career because, despite being built around a very specialized set of knowledge and expertise, it allows me to perform both bread-and-butter surgeries, like same-day anorectal procedures and screening colonoscopies, and advanced abdominal surgery, such as robotic surgery.
It is a great privilege to be able to use my knowledge and skills to help patients with conditions that can be very embarrassing for them to share and have addressed by a "stranger" and I always strive to communicate with my patients in the most honest, open and empathetic way possible.
23 years
Experience
Dr. Rodolfo Pigalarga, M.D.
- Arlington, VA
- Catholic University of Rome
- Accepting new patients
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Diverticulosis or endometriosis cause of bowel adhesions?
It is hard for me to form an opinion without having inspected the area intraoperatively. Having said that, both diverticular disease and endometrial implants could affect the sigmoid READ MORE
It is hard for me to form an opinion without having inspected the area intraoperatively. Having said that, both diverticular disease and endometrial implants could affect the sigmoid colon and make it look the way you described it. Endometriosis could certainly cause an inflammatory reaction in the areas close to the implants, not necessarily only where the implants are. At the same time, diverticular disease (chronic thickening of the colonic wall related to diverticulosis) can also cause that type of inflammatory reaction in completely asymptomatic patients. You are definitely quite young to have diverticular disease, but it could still happen and I routinely see young patients with acute and chronic diverticulitis, not too unusual. I think that a colonoscopy is a very reasonable option to achieve a better idea of the status of the colon and I would recommend that too. I would also consider to have a a colorectal surgeon doing it, as a colorectal surgeon might be able to correlate colonoscopy findings and "feeling" during the instrumentation with possible symptoms and potential need for surgery in the future. Hope this helps. Good luck.
