Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition

New Patient Appointment or 214-645-8300

UT Southwestern Medical Center offers comprehensive care for infants, children, and adolescents with gastrointestinal, pancreatic, and hepatic disorders.

Treatment from UT Southwestern’s experienced and renowned physicians, combined with comprehensive, state-of-the-art services, give our pediatric patients the best in quality health care.

U.S. News & World Report’s Best Children’s Hospital 2021-2022 list ranks our pediatric Gastroenterology and Gastrointestinal Surgery program No. 7 in the nation.

Treating Both Simple and Chronic Digestive Disorders

Digestive disorders affecting infants and children range from common problems that most children experience, such as vomiting or diarrhea, to more serious problems, such as inflammatory bowel disease, hepatitis, or pancreatitis.

Digestive and liver disorders can have significant effects on the health and growth of a child. A healthy digestive system processes the foods and liquids that we eat, replenishing vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, and fats that are vital for the body to function properly.

The UT Southwestern Pediatric Group provides expert pediatric gastrointestinal clinical services at Children's Health in Dallas, at Texas Health Dallas, and at our clinics in Plano and Frisco.

One-of-a-Kind Care

UTSW Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition offers many programs that aren’t available elsewhere.

Unique in the U.S.

With one of the largest Inflammatory Bowel Disease Centers in the nation, caring for more than 500 children and providing consultations to patients worldwide, we are a founding member of the Improve Care Now Network for pediatric inflammatory bowel disease patients, and we offer access to leading-edge clinical trials with treatment strategies tailored to patients of all ages, including those with very early onset IBD.
With one of the most advanced Therapeutic Endoscopy Programs in the U.S., our program leads the nation in endoscopic innovation, research, and training. We are the founding site for the Pediatric ERCP Database Initiative.
We also have one of the largest Intestinal Rehabilitation Programs in the country.

Unique in North Texas

Bowel Management Program for kids with simple and complex anorectal malformations
Multidisciplinary Abdominal Pain Program, including psychologists and pain management specialists
Pediatric Intestinal Immunology Clinic
Fecal Microbial Transplant Program
Dallas Eosinophilic Esophagitis Program, offering multidisciplinary care for children with food allergy disorders; this program includes pediatric gastroenterologists and allergists, supported by dietitians and psychologists – all with special focus on food allergies

Unique in Dallas-Fort Worth

Aerodigestive Disorders Management Program: Pediatric patients are referred to our Program from across the nation for evaluation of swallowing, breathing, and feeding disorders by our team of gastroenterologists, pulmonologists, and ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialists.
Celiac Disease Program

Conditions We Treat

From diagnosis to treatment and beyond, we’re here for our pediatric patients. To meet specialized needs, we’ve designed and implemented unique programs for the treatment of conditions including:

Abdominal pain
Acid reflux (gastroesophageal reflux disease)
Anorectal malformations
Celiac disease
Cholestasis and jaundice of neonates and children
Constipation, encopresis, and other disorders of defecation
Chronic diarrhea
Chronic recurrent abdominal pain and abdominal migraines
Cystic fibrosis
Eosinophilic and allergic disorders of the gastrointestinal tract
Esophageal atresia and strictures
Fatty liver disease or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)
Feeding disorders of infancy and childhood
Food allergies
Gastrointestinal bleeding (acute and chronic)
Immunologic disorders affecting the gastrointestinal tract
Inflammatory bowel disease
Intestinal failure and rehabilitation (short bowel syndrome)
Irritable bowel syndrome
Liver disease and transplantation
Obesity
Pancreatitis (acute, recurrent, and chronic)
Polyposis
Viral hepatitis in children
Vomiting and motility disorders

Our Center hosts a fully equipped gastrointestinal lab that provides a number of services, including endoscopy and biopsy, colonoscopy, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), and percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) placement.

Other services include 24-hour esophageal pH and impedance monitoring, lactose and urea breath testing, polypectomy, esophageal dilation, endoscopic management of GI bleeding, and coin and foreign body removal.

Pediatric Clinical Nutrition

Young patients dealing with gastrointestinal conditions often experience issues with nutrition. As one of the largest pediatric nutrition teams in Texas, the physicians and dietitians at UT Southwestern and Children's Health can develop a nutrition plan that is optimized for each unique patient.

Learn more about how we provide pediatric clinical nutrition at Children’s Health.

Infant Gastroenterology

Babies can experience a variety of GI issues, from feeding problems to stomach pain. In most cases, these aren’t serious and will go away, but sometimes the issues need expert care.

Newborns and infants might have digestive conditions that include:

Colic
Diarrhea
Reflux
Vomiting

Poor growth can be another indicator of digestive problems in infants.

UT Southwestern Pediatric Group’s gastroenterologists are experts in diagnosing and treating conditions that affect infants, helping them get the essential nutrition they need at the start of their lives.

Glycogen Storage Disease

Glycogen storage disease (GSD) is a rare, inherited condition in which the body improperly uses and stores glycogen, one of its main sources of energy. Our team has expertise to help children with GSD.

Learn more about GSD.

Clinical Trials

Our physicians and scientists are actively engaged in research and innovation. Current clinical trials focus on a number of critical areas in pediatric health, expanding treatment options, and redefining what is possible in pediatric medicine.