Gastroenterology

Overview

The Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric esophageal, gastrointestinal, hepatic and pancreatic disorders in children and adolescents. The division's physicians see patients through outpatient consultations provided in clinics at N.C. Children’s Hospital in Chapel Hill and the N.C. Children's Specialty Clinic in Raleigh, as well as in AHEC (Area Health Education Centers) clinics in Wilmington. The division's pediatric GI inpatient service also treats many patients hospitalized at the Children's Hospital and provides consultation services to other medical specialties.

Learn more about the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and its clinical programs and services by visiting the division's Web site.

Special Services

The division's physicians provide consultations on enteral and parenteral nutrition, as well as gastrointestinal problems in children, including chronic abdominal pain, chronic diarrhea, chronic constipation, inflammatory bowel disease, gastroesophageal reflux, swallowing disorders, hepatitis, prolonged jaundice in newborns, celiac disease, and giardiasis. The division also offers specialized clinical services including:

N.C. Children's Center for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD)

The Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, jointly with the Pediatric Surgery Division, care for nearly 300 pediatric IBD patients from all over the Southeast at the North Carolina Children's Center for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (i.e., Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis), located at N.C. Children's Hospital. The Center's multidisciplinary care providers include pediatric gastroenterologists, surgeons, nurse practitioners and clinicians, nutritionists, adolescent transitioning coordinators and therapists, who work collaboratively to provide comprehensive care.

The Center provides both inpatient and outpatient care at N.C. Children's Hospital and clinical procedures (e.g., surgery and endoscopies) in the hospital's operating rooms and outpatient procedure suite. Radiographic studies (e.g., CT scans; bone density measurements; barium studies of the GI tract) are performed in the Pediatric Radiology Department.

Pediatric Liver Transplant

Physicians in the Pediatric Gastroenterology Division participate in the multidisciplinary evaluation of children with severe liver disease, working with the UNC Pediatric Liver Transplant Program's team in supervising pre- and post-transplantation care, perioperative management, and long-term follow-up for children undergoing this procedure. Learn more about pediatric liver transplantation at UNC.