Gastrointestinal and bowel

What are gastrointestinal and bowel problems?

Gastroenterology services at the Sydney Children's Hospitals Network include treatments for:

• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis
• Coeliac disease
• The emerging problem of Eosinophilic Oesophagitis
• Tracheo-oesophageal Fistula (TOF) and Oesophageal Atresia (OA)

The gastroenterology services also:

• Play a lead role in Dysphagia Clinic (for children who have difficulty swallowing)
• Play a major role in the provision of enteral nutrition (directly into the stomach through a tube) and parenteral (intravenous) nutrition for children
• Provide treatment for children with gastrointestinal motility disorders (SCH)

Information about services for patients with liver disease and those requiring liver transplant is provided in Liver (Hepatology and Liver Transplant).

How do we help children who have gastrointestinal and bowel problems?

The Department of Gastroenterology at The Children's Hospital at Westmead is a multidisciplinary inpatient and outpatient service for general gastroenterology, hepatology, liver transplant, cystic fibrosis, non-CF pancreatic disease, clinical nutrition, parenteral nutrition, and developmental disability associated dysphagia.

The Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick Gastroenterology Department provides a comprehensive tertiary and quaternary Gastroenterology Service in close collaboration with other Medical and Surgical Departments and Multidisciplinary Teams both within the Hospital and at affiliated peripheral hospitals. Services provided include:

• General Gastroenterology
• Multi-disciplinary IBD service
• Multi-disciplinary Motility Clinic
• Cystic Fibrosis Service
• Multidisciplinary Tracheo-oesophageal Fistula/Oesophageal Atresia Service
• Multidisciplinary consultative TPN service
• Consultative service to the Epidermolysis Bullosa programme
• Outreach Gastroenterology Service to Canberra Hospital
• Outreach Gastroenterology Service to St George Hospital
• Endoscopic Procedural Service
• High resolution oesophageal and ano-rectal manometry, multi-channel impedance monitoring and electrogastrography service
• Capsule Endoscopy Service
• Gastroenterology Laboratory
• Gastroenterology Research Program