If you are searching for a gastroenterologist in Falls Church VA, Gastroenterology Center of Northern Virginia (GC of NoVA) cares for patients from across the Falls Church area at two offices that sit on either side of it. We do not have an office inside the City of Falls Church itself. What we have is an Arlington office a short drive east, next to VHC Health, and an Annandale office to the south, one block from the Inova Fairfax campus. This page explains which one most Falls Church patients use, the digestive care we provide, and how to schedule.
Where a gastroenterologist in Falls Church VA actually practices
Falls Church sits in one of the most concentrated medical corridors in Northern Virginia, and almost none of that care is delivered inside the city limits. The City of Falls Church covers about two square miles and roughly 14,700 residents, so the hospitals, endoscopy centers, and specialty practices that serve it are all just outside it. That is normal here, and it is worth saying plainly rather than implying otherwise. When you look for a gastroenterologist in Falls Church VA, what you are really choosing between is a set of offices in Arlington and Fairfax County that are minutes away in different directions.
Our two offices bracket the city. The Arlington office is due east, on North George Mason Drive. The Annandale office is south and west, in the Woodburn Medical complex. Which one is more convenient usually has less to do with distance than with which direction you already travel for work, school pickup, or your other physicians.
Falls Church is more than one place, and it changes the answer
Part of what makes this question confusing is that the name covers several different things. The independent City of Falls Church uses ZIP code 22046 and has its own government, school division, and tax base. But ZIP codes 22041, 22042, 22043, and 22044 also carry a Falls Church mailing address while sitting entirely in Fairfax County, under Fairfax County government and Fairfax County Public Schools. Tens of thousands more people have a Falls Church address than live in the city.
The pattern repeats on the transit map. East Falls Church Metro station is in Arlington County. West Falls Church station is in the Idylwood area of Fairfax County. Neither one is inside the City of Falls Church.
The clearest illustration is the hospital. Inova Fairfax Hospital lists its address as 3300 Gallows Road, Falls Church, VA 22042, even though the campus is well outside the city and is one of the anchors of the Annandale and Merrifield medical area. So a patient who says they want care in Falls Church may mean the walkable blocks around Broad Street, or may mean the Seven Corners and Bailey's Crossroads side, or may mean the hospital corridor near Gallows Road. Each of those points toward a different one of our offices.
Our Arlington office, closest to the City of Falls Church
For patients in 22046 and the eastern Falls Church neighborhoods, our Arlington office is generally the nearer of the two. It is located at 1715 North George Mason Drive, Suite 403, Arlington, VA 22205, adjacent to VHC Health in Zone C, with patient parking in Parking C. You can reach that office at (703) 522-7476.
Sitting on a hospital campus is practical rather than symbolic. If your visit also involves lab work or imaging, those services are on the same campus, which keeps a workup from turning into three separate trips. Our full Arlington gastroenterology office page covers parking, hours, and what to expect there in more detail.
Our Annandale office, closer for the 22041 through 22044 side
If your Falls Church address is one of the Fairfax County ZIP codes, or if you already drive toward Gallows Road or Route 50 for other care, our Annandale office is usually the easier trip. It is at 3299 Woodburn Road, Suite 220, Annandale, VA 22003, in the second building of the Woodburn Medical complex, and the phone number there is (703) 560-6106.
Woodburn Medical Park is a large medical office campus of more than forty practices, and it sits about a block from Inova Fairfax Hospital. For a patient whose mailing address already reads Falls Church 22042, this office is often the closest gastroenterology practice of any kind. Our Annandale gastroenterology office page has the specifics.
You are not locked into one location. Many of our patients are seen at whichever office had the sooner opening and follow up at the other.
Colon cancer screening for Falls Church adults
Screening is the single most common reason people in this area look for a gastroenterologist in Falls Church VA. The American Cancer Society recommends that adults at average risk begin colorectal cancer screening at age 45, and colonoscopy is the only screening test that can find and remove polyps in the same exam.
Falls Church screens better than most places and still has room to move. In the CDC's PLACES local estimates for 2022, 67.3 percent of adults aged 45 to 75 in the City of Falls Church were up to date with colorectal cancer screening, compared with 63.1 percent across Fairfax County. Both are above the national picture, and both sit below the Healthy People 2030 target of 72.8 percent. Read the Falls Church number the other way and roughly one in three eligible adults in a highly insured, highly educated city is still not current.
The reason that matters is timing. Colon polyps and early colorectal cancer usually cause no symptoms at all, which is the whole argument for screening on a schedule rather than screening when something feels wrong. We cover that pattern across the digestive tract in our page on digestive conditions that often have no symptoms.
If you are weighing a colonoscopy against a stool-based test, our comparison of colon cancer screening options in Northern Virginia lays out what each test does and does not do. If a colonoscopy is already scheduled, our guides to colonoscopy prep, sedation, and what to expect on the day walk through it start to finish, and your colonoscopy results explained covers what the report means afterward. Cost questions are addressed in does insurance cover a colonoscopy.
Digestive conditions we evaluate for Falls Church patients
Screening is one lane. The other is symptoms, and the range we see from the Falls Church area is the ordinary range of adult gastroenterology. That includes GERD and acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, hemorrhoids, and liver conditions such as fatty liver disease and hepatitis.
Patients also come to us with a symptom rather than a diagnosis, which is often the more useful way to start. Ongoing abdominal pain, blood in the stool, and difficulty swallowing each have their own workup, and each is a reason to be seen rather than to wait. Our evaluations frequently involve upper endoscopy or colonoscopy, though not every visit leads to a procedure.
Where procedures are performed
When a procedure is recommended, it is done at an affiliated facility rather than in the office. Those include VHC Health, Inova Fairfax Hospital, and Woodburn Endoscopy Center. Which facility is used depends on the procedure and on your circumstances, and your physician's office will tell you where to go and what to expect before the day arrives. For a Falls Church patient, all three of those sites are in the same corridor as the two offices, so the procedure is rarely a longer trip than the consultation was.
Primary care or a gastroenterologist in Falls Church VA
Not every digestive symptom needs a specialist, and your primary care physician is a reasonable first stop for most new ones. The situations that genuinely call for a gastroenterologist tend to be symptoms that persist after a first-line treatment, symptoms that return every time treatment stops, findings that need explanation such as unexplained anemia or abnormal liver enzymes, and anything where the sensible next step is a scope or a biopsy. Screening at age 45 is its own reason and needs no symptom at all. Our page on when to see a gastroenterologist rather than your primary care doctor works through that decision in detail.
The physicians who see Falls Church patients
Our practice is a group, and Falls Church patients are seen by the same physicians at either office: Gabriel B. Herman, M.D., Pradeep K. Gupta, M.D., Truc T. Trinh, M.D., Diego I. Kuperschmit, M.D., and Rachana Potru, M.D. Each bio covers training, focus areas, and clinical interests, which is worth a look if you have a preference about who you see.
How to schedule with a gastroenterologist in Falls Church VA
To request an appointment, call the office that suits you. Arlington is (703) 522-7476 and Annandale is (703) 560-6106. Both are open Monday through Thursday from 8:30am to 5:00pm and Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm. We accept new patients at both locations, whether you were referred by your primary care physician or are reaching out on your own. If you are not sure which office to choose, say where in Falls Church you are coming from and our team can point you to the closer one.
Before your visit, it helps to gather your insurance card and photo identification, a list of your medications and supplements, any recent lab work or imaging, and the date and findings of any previous colonoscopy or endoscopy. Our guide to your first gastroenterologist visit covers what the appointment itself involves, and how to become a new patient explains referrals and intake.
Frequently asked questions about gastroenterology care in Falls Church
Do you have an office in Falls Church, VA?
We do not have an office inside the City of Falls Church. We see Falls Church patients at two nearby locations: our Arlington office at 1715 North George Mason Drive, Suite 403, adjacent to VHC Health, and our Annandale office at 3299 Woodburn Road, Suite 220, in the Woodburn Medical complex. The Arlington office is generally closer to the 22046 side of Falls Church, and the Annandale office is generally closer to the Fairfax County ZIP codes that carry a Falls Church address.
Which office should I choose if my address says Falls Church, 22042?
ZIP code 22042 is in Fairfax County near the Gallows Road and Inova Fairfax corridor, so our Annandale office at 3299 Woodburn Road is usually the shorter trip. That said, you are welcome at either location, and appointment availability sometimes makes Arlington the faster option. Call (703) 560-6106 for Annandale or (703) 522-7476 for Arlington and our team can help you decide.
At what age should Falls Church adults start colon cancer screening?
The American Cancer Society recommends that adults at average risk begin colorectal cancer screening at age 45. People with a family history of colorectal cancer or advanced polyps, a personal history of polyps, or inflammatory bowel disease may need to start earlier or repeat screening more often. That determination is individual, and it is one of the things a first appointment is for.
Where would my colonoscopy be performed?
Procedures are performed at facilities affiliated with the practice rather than in the office. These include VHC Health, Inova Fairfax Hospital, and Woodburn Endoscopy Center. The facility depends on the procedure and your circumstances, and our team will confirm the location and the prep instructions with you in advance.
Do I need a referral to be seen?
Many patients come to us through a referral from their primary care physician, and others contact us directly. Whether a referral is required depends on your insurance plan rather than on our practice, so it is worth checking your plan before you call. We accept new patients at both the Arlington and Annandale offices.
Are Falls Church residents keeping up with colon cancer screening?
Better than most of the country, with room left. The CDC's PLACES local estimates for 2022 put colorectal cancer screening among adults aged 45 to 75 at 67.3 percent in the City of Falls Church and 63.1 percent across Fairfax County. Both fall short of the Healthy People 2030 national target of 72.8 percent, which means roughly one in three eligible adults locally is not current.
This article is for general education and is not medical advice. Screening timing, symptom evaluation, and whether a procedure is appropriate all depend on your history, your risk factors, and your examination. Talk with a qualified gastroenterologist about your symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment options.
