Pediatric Gastroenterologist

What is a pediatric gastroenterologist?

A pediatric gastroenterologist is a doctor who manages conditions affecting your child’s digestive system. This means they’re trained to diagnose and treat issues with your child’s:

• Mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine and large intestine (collectively known as the gastrointestinal or GI tract)
• Pancreas, liver, gallbladder and bile ducts (biliary tract)

Some digestive issues (sometimes called pediatric gastrointestinal/GI disorders) are minor and temporary. Others are more serious and need lifesaving treatment. Some conditions will stick around for life. But with treatment and active partnerships with your pediatric GI team, they should become manageable and not interfere with your child’s daily routine. Ultimately, providers want your child to have a good quality of life.

There’s a lot going on in your child’s digestive tract. From swallowing to pooping, pediatric gastroenterologists understand many things can affect your child’s digestive health. They’ll run tests and provide treatments for your child’s unique needs. They’ll also help you learn about your child’s condition and what you might expect going forward.

What do pediatric gastroenterologists do?

Pediatric gastroenterologists do everything that gastroenterologists for adults do. The difference is they provide these services to babies, kids and teens. Specific day-to-day tasks might involve:

• Meeting with families to learn about a child’s symptoms and medical history
• Ordering imaging tests or doing procedures that help find a diagnosis
• Doing procedures or offering other treatments to manage a condition
• Researching pediatric gastrointestinal disorders
• Teaching and mentoring future doctors

Procedures a pediatric gastroenterologist can do

Pediatric gastroenterologists can do many different procedures. For example, they’re specially trained in endoscopy. This involves placing a long, thin tube (endoscope) inside your child’s body to look for possible causes of their symptoms. The exact location depends on the symptoms and what providers need to check.

Your pediatric gastroenterologist might recommend these specific forms of endoscopy:

• Upper endoscopy, which examines your child’s esophagus, stomach and duodenum
• Colonoscopy, which examines your child’s large intestine
• Capsule endoscopy, which provides images of your child’s small intestine

Endoscopies help diagnose conditions. They allow for an up-close look at your child’s digestive organs. They sometimes involve taking a small tissue sample (biopsy) for further testing. Providers can often use endoscopy to treat conditions, too.

Pediatric gastroenterologists can also:

• Do a liver biopsy to learn what’s causing liver disease and see how much damage there is
• Place a feeding tube or IV catheter to help your child get necessary nutrients
• Perform special procedures that look at the way the smooth muscles and nerves within your child’s GI tract function (motility testing)

Why would a child be referred to a gastroenterologist?

Your child might need to see a pediatric gastroenterologist for tests or treatments. These experts can help with a wide range of issues that:

• Cause your child to develop GI symptoms
• Affect their ability to get and/or absorb the nutrients their body needs
• Lead to complications, especially if things aren’t treated/managed effectively
• Put their life at risk

If your child seems to have bellyaches all the time, you’re not alone. That’s the most common reason why pediatricians refer families to gastroenterologists. Frequent bellyaches (functional abdominal pain) can get in the way of your child’s learning and make them miss out on activities. Lots of things can cause this type of pain. Pediatric gastroenterologists can run tests to figure out what’s going on.

Examples of other conditions that pediatric gastroenterologists diagnose and treat include:

• Celiac disease
• Cyclic vomiting syndrome
• Eosinophilic esophagitis (EOE)
• Food allergies or intolerances
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• GI bleeding
• Growth faltering
• Inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis)
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• Liver disease
• Motility issues of the GI tract
• Pancreatic disease
• Malnutrition
• Overweight and obesity
• Short bowel syndrome

What do pediatric gastroenterologists specialize in?

Pediatric gastroenterologists complete:

• An undergraduate degree program (typically four years)
• Medical school (typically four years)
• A residency program in pediatrics (typically three years)
• A fellowship in pediatric gastroenterology (typically three years)
• Additional fellowship or advanced training (for example, in transplant hepatology, neurogastroenterology or obesity medicine)

They must pass exams to become board-certified in both:

• General pediatrics
• Pediatric gastroenterology

Some pediatric gastroenterologists choose to do more training in an area like:

• Pediatric liver disease and liver transplantation
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Nutrition