Pediatric Gastroenterology

Pediatric gastroenterologists treat patients who have disorders of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine (colon), liver, gallbladder and pancreas. At Beaumont Children's Hospital we care for patients from the newborn period their college years and parents can feel confident that their children will receive expert care from our board certified physicians.

We have a special interest in helping patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis and we take care of more children with IBD than any center in the state of Michigan. Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are chronic disorders that affect 1.4 million Americans, 30% of whom are diagnosed in childhood. We also have extensive experience with allergic gastrointestinal disorders such as eosinophilic esophagitis and have seen a marked increase in this condition over the past ten years. For these conditions, we work closely with our pediatric allergists and immunologists to minimize fragmentation of care.

We try to help patients with the least invasive approach but, if indicated, we perform other procedures. Currently, we perform over 800 of these procedures each year which include

• capsule endoscopy (camera in the intestine)
  
• colonoscopy
  
• esophageal pH probe (to measure acid reflux in the esophagus)
  
• motility studies of the esophagus, rectum, liver biopsies
  
• polypectomy
  
• upper endoscopy (light into the stomach)

Other disorders and disease of special interest to our gastroenterologists include