About Digestive & Liver Center of Arkansas

A physician-owned practice, built in Fort Smith

Digestive & Liver Center of Arkansas is an independent, physician-owned gastroenterology practice in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Dr. Ihab Herraka founded it in 2016 and still owns it, which means the decisions here are made by the doctor who sees you, not by a corporate office in another state. The practice was formerly known as Arkansas Liver & GI; it is the same practice, at the same address, under the same physician. He had already been practicing medicine since 2012 when he opened the doors. Since then the practice has grown to include an on-site endoscopy suite, an on-site specialty pharmacy, and focused programs for liver disease, hemorrhoids and medical weight loss, all serving patients across the River Valley. The idea behind all of it is simple. Digestive problems, liver disease and weight are tangled together in the same body, so they should be treated by the same team, in the same place, by someone who knows your whole story.

The physician who cares for you

Ihab Herraka, MD, is board-certified in Gastroenterology, Internal Medicine, and Obesity Medicine, and he is a diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine. He earned his medical degree at the University of Aleppo, then completed his Internal Medicine residency and Gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Florida and Shands in Gainesville. He is a member of the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG), the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), and he has a long-standing special interest in liver disease. He has performed in-office hemorrhoid banding since 2020, with hundreds of successful bandings. He speaks English and Arabic. Dr. Herraka is affiliated with Baptist Health Fort Smith and Mercy Hospital Fort Smith, which means he can admit and care for his patients there when a problem needs hospital-level treatment. You can read more about his training, publications and areas of focus on Dr. Herraka's page.

What makes our model different

One team from first visit to follow-up. The physician who takes your history is the physician who performs your colonoscopy, interprets your FibroScan, and reviews the results with you afterward. Fewer handoffs means fewer things falling through the cracks. An endoscopy suite in our own building. Colonoscopy and upper endoscopy happen at our clinic on Old Greenwood Road, in a setting our own staff runs. You are not sent across town to a hospital and scheduled weeks out by someone who has never met you. Southside Specialty Pharmacy on site. Having a pharmacy here means many everyday prescriptions can be filled before you leave, by people who already know your chart. Specialty medicines such as self-injected biologics go through the specialty pharmacy your plan uses, and our staff handles that paperwork for you. One address for everything. GI care and procedures, liver testing, the fatty liver program and medical weight loss all happen at 3416 Old Greenwood Rd, open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Direct access. In most cases you do not need a referral to be seen. If your plan requires one, our staff helps you coordinate it, and we send results back to your primary care provider so your care stays connected.

Our programs

Our liver program brings together painless FibroScan testing, blood-based fibrosis scoring, and treatment for fatty liver disease (MASLD), MASH, liver fibrosis, hepatitis B and C, and unexplained elevated liver enzymes. Because fatty liver is driven by metabolic health, the same team also runs our medical weight loss program, where Dr. Herraka's obesity medicine training goes to work on the causes rather than the number on the scale. We treat hemorrhoids the way most people wish they had known about years earlier, with CRH O'Regan banding, an in-office procedure that takes about a minute, needs no anesthesia, and usually lets patients return to normal activities the same day. All of it is one practice and one medical record, so you do not have to explain yourself twice.

The communities we serve

We care for patients throughout the Arkansas River Valley: Fort Smith, Van Buren, Greenwood, Alma, Barling and Charleston, along with Poteau, Sallisaw and neighboring towns in eastern Oklahoma. Many of our patients search for a gastroenterologist Poteau OK and drive in from communities where one is not around the corner, so we try to keep visits efficient and get testing done close to home.

Cost & insurance

We accept most of the coverage people in this area carry, including Medicare, Arkansas Medicaid, Oklahoma Medicaid, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, UnitedHealthcare, UMR, Cigna, Aetna, Humana, Ambetter, HealthChoice and VA coverage (full list). Self-pay pricing is available for elective services. Benefits differ from plan to plan, especially for weight-loss medications and elective procedures. Our staff verifies your coverage before your visit and explains what to expect, so you are not surprised by a bill. See our insurance page for details, or call and ask.

Come see us in Fort Smith

If you have been putting off a symptom, a screening, or a second opinion, we would be glad to help. Call us at (479) 242-2888 to schedule with Dr. Herraka, 3416 Old Greenwood Rd, Fort Smith, AR 72903, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.