The 18th Annual Gastroenterology and Hepatology: Viva la Vida, scheduled for March 6 - 9, 2018 at The Ritz-Carlton in Cancun, Mexicowill provide, through formal lectures, questions and answer sessions, as well as interactive sessions such as hands-on demonstrations and interactive endoscopic cases from the Johns Hopkins Hospital, presentations of various gastrointestinal and liver disorders that will be of interest to practitioners in the field.  Course attendees will be updated in a series of symposia to include current approaches to patients with IBD, fatty liver disease, pancreatitis, hepatocellular cancer, advances in Hepatitis C treatment and hot new and emerging topics including anal intraepithelial neoplasia, considerations for anesthesia, surgical interventions for GERD, submucosal endoscopy and endoscopic palliative bypass procedures.  There will be a special symposia on bariatric weight loss including surgical options, endoscopic approaches and guidelines on how to build a bariatric program in your center. This year, the conference will focus on common clinical challenges faced by practitioners with clinical cases ranging from persistent abdominal pain, management of esophageal reflux, and intractable bloating.