Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition

Children’s is home to one of the leading pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition programs in the country. In 2020-21, U.S. News & World Report ranked our gastroenterology and GI surgery program as one of the best in the nation. Our multidisciplinary team combines expertise in pediatric gastroenterology with advanced diagnostic and therapeutic technologies to provide outstanding care to children with digestive problems.

Why is Children’s the best choice for pediatric gastroenterology?

• Our team manages more than 3,150 inpatient and 41,000 outpatient gastroenterology visits each year, which is among the highest of freestanding children's hospitals in the country.
• We are the largest enroller of patients in ImproveCareNow, a national outcomes and quality registry for children with inflammatory bowel disease. Children's has enrolled more than 1,300 children in the registry, which is 89 percent of eligible patients.
• We offer the most specialized programs in the Southeast, including neurogastroenterology and motility, ERCP, aerodigestive, fecal microbiota transplantation and more.
• Our Advanced Pancreatic Care Program is the only multidisciplinary pancreas care center in the Southeast and one of nine pediatric programs to be recognized for the treatment of pancreatitis by the National Pancreas Foundation.

The specialized gastroenterology (GI) team at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta treats and manages general and complex pediatric gastrointestinal and digestive conditions, including:

• Gastrointestinal bleeding
• Abdominal pain
• Celiac disease
• Clostridium difficile (C. diff)
  Congenital metabolism problems
• Constipation/diarrhea
• Crohn’s disease
• Feeding problems
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)

• Helicobacter pylori infection
• Hirschsprung’s disease
• Pancreatitis (acute and chronic)
• Poor growth
• Reflux
• Ulcerative colitis
• Vomiting

We also treat liver and nutritional disorders, including:

• A1AD
• Acute liver failure
• Autoimmune hepatitis
• Biliary atresia
• Byer’s disease
• Cirrhosis
• Cystic fibrosis
• Enlarged liver
• Hemochromatosis
• Hepatic encephalopathy
• Hepatitis A

• Hepatitis B
• Hepatitis C
• Intrahepatic cholestasis (I, II and II)
• Jaundice
• Liver abscess
• Liver cancer
• Liver transplant
• Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
• Sclerosing cholangitis
• Wilson’s disease

We offer a number of specialized services for children and teenagers with gastrointestinal, liver and nutritional disorders, including:

Procedures

• Endoscopy: An endoscope is a lighted, flexible instrument containing a computer chip and camera that is attached to a TV monitor. It’s used to examine the upper or lower GI tract.
• Capsule endoscopy: Capsule endoscopy uses a pill-sized video camera that is swallowed to allow a doctor to examine the middle part of the gastrointestinal tract.
• Upper endoscopy: Upper endoscopy is a procedure that allows the doctor to see the esophagus (food tube), stomach and the first part of the small intestine with an endoscope—a lighted, flexible instrument.
• Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatogram (ERCP): ERCP is a specialized technique for doctors to treat disorders of the liver and pancreas, as well as the bile and pancreatic ducts. A camera, also called an endoscope, allows the specialist to look inside your child’s esophagus, stomach and small intestine and access and treat these disorders. A small opening in your child’s small intestine is identified and a small, plastic tube is passed through the endoscope and into this opening. Dye is injected and X-rays are taken to study the ducts of the pancreas and liver.
• Colonoscopy: Colonoscopy is a test that examines the large intestine by inserting a long, flexible, lighted tube (colonoscope) into the rectum.
• Bravo pH testing: The Bravo™ pH Monitoring System measures pH to test for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in older children. The doctor implants a small, temporary device on the wall of your child’s esophagus during an endoscopy. The device collects data about acid levels.
• pH probe study: A pH probe study measures the acid levels inside of the esophagus to test for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in younger children. The doctor inserts a thin probe through the nose and into your child’s esophagus to record acid levels.
• Manometry: Manometry is a test that examines how rectal muscles and nerves are working. The test helps determine the cause of anorectal constipation or encopresis (stool leakage). The doctor inserts a thin, flexible tube (catheter) into the rectum to record pressure. A small balloon attached to the tube may be inflated to assess reflexes.

Physician leadership

• Dana Michelle Hines Dykes, MD, Medical Director, Improve Care Now, Scottish Rite hospital 
• Jose M Garza, MD, System Medical Director, Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition; Medical Director, Neurogastroenterology and Motility
• Saul Karpen, MD, PhD, Division Chief, Gastroenterology
• Rene Romero, MD, Clinical Director of Hepatology; Medical Director, Pediatric Intestinal Rehabilitation Program
• Cary G Sauer, MD, System Medical Director, Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition; Medical Director, GI Endoscopy and Diagnostics Program
• Bess T Schoen, MD, Medical Director, Improve Care Now, Egleston hospital
• Field F Willingham, MD, Medical Director, Therapeutic Endoscopy and ERCP

Children’s Physician Group - Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition

Children's Physician Group is the largest multispecialty physician practice in Georgia. Children's Physician Group enables you and your family to see pediatric specialists that are part of the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta team.

Gastroenterologists

• Hillary Bashaw, MD
• John-Paul, Berauer, MD
• Jose M Garza, MD
• Patrice G Kruszewski, DO
• Subramaniam Kugathasan, MD
• Chrissy Lopez, MD

• Barbara Overend McElhanon, MD
• Sonal Patel, MD
• Cary G Sauer, MD
• Joanna Niklinska-Schirtz, MD
• Bess T Schoen, MD
• Gayathri J Tenjarla, MD

Hepatologists

• Saul J Karpen, MD, PhD
• A. Jay Freeman, MD
• Nitika A Gupta, MD
• Chrissy Lopez, MD

• Dellys M Soler Rodriguez, MD
• Rene Romero, MD
• Miriam Vos, MD, MS

Psychologists

• Bonney Reed, PhD
• Jessica Buzenski, PhD

Advanced endoscopist

• Field F Willingham, MD

Community gastroenterologists

• Jeffrey A Blumenthal, MD
• Stanley A Cohen, MD
• Dana Michelle Hines Dykes, MD
• Jose M Garza, MD
• Benjamin D Gold, MD
• Jay A Hochman, MC
• Tatyana Hofmekler, MD
• Jeffery D Lewis, MD
• Larry Glen Lewis Jr, MD
• Steven Liu, MD
• Seth B Marcus, MD

• Tejas R Mehta, MD
• Aminu Mohammed, MD
• Nirav R Patel, MD
• Dinesh G Patel, MD
• Edith Schear Pilzer, MD
• Larry M Saripkin, MD
• Olga M Sherrod, MD
• Jordan H Weitzner, MD

Having a child with a gastrointestinal condition can affect the entire family. Here are some resources to guide your family:

• North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
• Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America
• Camp Oasis
• Crohn’s Disease Resource Center
• American Liver Foundation
• Georgia Liver Foundation
• Hepatitis Foundation International
• Alpha-1 Foundation
• Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients
• Childhood Liver Disease Research Network
• National Institutes of Health

Our intestinal rehabilitation clinic is held at Emory Children’s Center Building, while general gastroenterology clinics are held at our other neighborhood locations. ERCP, endoscopy and surgical procedures are performed at Egleston hospital.