Small tummies can face big problems
Gastrointestinal disorders that impact a child’s digestive system run the gamut. They include everything from nutritional challenges, like lactose intolerance, to chronic illnesses, such as hepatitis.
With years of training in GI conditions, the pediatric gastroenterologists on the professional staff at Children’s Minnesota are uniquely qualified to diagnose and treat virtually all types of GI disorders that affect children, including:
- Chronic abdominal pain
- Constipation (difficulty having a bowel movement)
- Crohn’s disease (a chronic intestinal inflammation that may cause stomach pain or diarrhea)
- Diarrhea (passing loose or watery stools)
- Feeding disorders (difficultly with sucking, swallowing or chewing)
- Food allergies (unable to tolerate certain foods)
- Gallbladder conditions (such as gallstones)
- GER – Gastroesophageal reflux (food in the stomach flows back up into the mouth)
- Hepatitis (a virus that causes liver disease)
- Lactose intolerance (an inability to digest lactose, the sugar in milk)
- Liver disease (including cancer of the liver)
- Nutritional problems (including malnutrition, failure to thrive and obesity)
- Pancreatic disorders (such as cystic fibrosis or inflammation of the pancreas)
- Swallowing disorders
- Ulcerative colitis (an inflammation of the lining of the large intestine or colon)
GI problems? We’ve got the tools to target and treat them
Babies can’t tell you where it hurts. And kids may not be sure why they feel queasy. But gastroenterology experts know precisely how to zero in on what’s distressing a child’s digestive system.
The experienced specialists are equipped with leading-edge imaging tools and other technology that’s designed to navigate through the GI tract for kids of all sizes — from babies’ tiny abdomens, to teen’s full-grown tummies. These advanced tools and procedures allow us to uncover the cause of kids’ gastrointestinal distress:
- Colonoscopy
- Endoscopy
- Esophageal monitoring
- Feeding tube placement
- Foreign body in need of removal
- Liver biopsy
- Rectal biopsy
- Small bowel biopsy
Once the cause of a child’s gastrointestinal distress is pinpointed, emerging, noninvasive pediatric treatments designed to help kids get on the mend are used including:
- Anti-inflammatory infusion therapy given through IVs
- Medication therapy
- Immunomodulators: substances that regulate a child’s immune system
- Nutrition management
While some GI conditions can be resolved using noninvasive techniques, others may require a surgical procedure for repair. More than 2,000 procedures each year are performed at Children’s Minnesota using the latest surgical techniques and technology. To make kids as comfortable as possible, Children’s Minnesota interdisciplinary pain management team tailors services for each child.
For children with multiple health challenges, the gastroenterologists work in sync with other Children’s programs to coordinate care and make your visits more convenient.