Advanced Pediatric Endoscopy

At Cook Children's, our gastroenterologists are focused on finding the cause of your child's gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms and providing relief. We use minimally invasive procedures known as endoscopy to help us see inside your child's digestive system. We can diagnose and treat a range of GI disorders with this approach, avoiding surgery in many cases. We're also exploring new and leading-edge options for care.

If your child needs an endoscopic procedure, we'll explain what to expect. And we'll provide full support to help you and your child all the way through.

How does endoscopy help us care for children with GI disorders?

While there are many types of endoscopic procedures, most feature a thin, flexible tube carefully threaded into the throat, nostril or other natural opening. The endoscopes have an ultrasound probe or light and camera attached.

Endoscopy helps us see real-time pictures of the tissues and organs in the digestive system and provide care for a range of GI disorders. For example, we can:

Diagnose and treat bleeding, obstructions and inflammation
Care for conditions that may otherwise require surgery, including taking tissue biopsies or repairing narrowed sections called strictures

Choosing Cook Children's for advanced pediatric endoscopy procedures

Our team treats patients from birth to young adulthood. When you come to Cook Children's, you'll find:

Expertise: Advanced endoscopy is a highly specialized area of gastroenterology and a team with extensive experience using these procedures. Our doctors are board certified in providing pediatric gastrointestinal care, meaning they have passed additional tests of skills and knowledge. You can feel confident that our team will ensure your child gets the best care possible.
Leading technology: Our team is among the first medical centers to use a newer endoscopy procedure called confocal laser endomicroscopy for pediatric gastrointestinal disorders. This technology provides high-resolution images of the digestive system, magnified up to 1,500 times. CLE can help us:
Perform food allergy and sensitivity testing: We can see allergic reactions in real-time after exposing tissue to suspected allergens. We can also identify food sensitivities by taking biopsies of inflamed tissue to diagnose conditions such as Celiac disease.
Diagnose and monitor inflammatory bowel disease: Endomicroscopy helps us more accurately diagnose and monitor inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). For newly diagnosed children, we can develop a treatment plan based on the results. We can also monitor current patients and adjust therapy if needed.
Innovative research: Through ongoing research we're developing more advanced testing and treatment for GI disorders, such as, improving ways to measure treatment for IBD in real time. With this approach, we hope to identify the right therapy for each child – faster.
Support services: Our Child Life specialists help your child at every stage of care. They explain what to expect during endoscopic procedures. They also provide comfort throughout therapy. Our social services team offers resources to assist you in times of physical, emotional and financial stress. There may also be many other people as part of your child's health care team.

Conditions we treat with interventional pediatric endoscopy

We use endoscopic procedures to treat a wide range of complex gastrointestinal conditions, including:

Choledocholithiasis
Congenital biliary and pancreatic strictures
Esophageal strictures
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
IBD (inflammatory bowel disease)
Pancreatitis

Therapeutic pediatric endoscopic procedures

After doing a physical exam and asking about your child's medical history, your doctor may recommend that your child have an endoscopy procedure. Our team works closely with other colleagues in gastroenterology to identify the best procedure based on each child's diagnosis and medical history.

For some procedures, your child will be given sedation. After the endoscopy, your child can go home the same day. Options include:

Balloon enteroscopy: In this procedure, we use an endoscope fitted with a special balloon to examine the esophagus, stomach and small intestine. By inflating and deflating the balloon, we can thread the endoscope deeper into the smaller intestine.
Confocal laser endomicroscopy: This procedure produces high resolution, microscopic pictures of the digestive tract lining. These images help us get an even closer look at digestive tissue and potential causes of digestive symptoms.
Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP): With this procedure, we combine endoscopy with X-rays. This procedure helps us examine the bile and pancreatic ducts.
Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS): For this exam, the endoscope has an ultrasound probe attached. This procedure allows us to see narrowed sections that aren't visible through abdominal ultrasounds or other imaging.
Nasal endoscopy: In this procedure, we use a flexible endoscope to examine the nasal and sinus passages. We can remove any foreign objects or obstructions. We can also see if there are conditions that may be causing digestive symptoms.
Video capsule endoscopy: With this procedure, patients swallow a small capsule that has a camera attached. The capsule relays images to a monitor that patients wear around their waist. This test allows us to see a video of the entire digestive tract. Learn more about video capsule endoscopy.

For children who need additional procedures, we work closely with experts in pediatric surgery and interventional radiology to coordinate care.

Make an appointment or refer a patient

We're ready to help. If you'd like to schedule an appointment, refer a patient or speak to our team, call our offices at 682-885-1990.

Make an appointment MyCookChildren's portal

Learn more about appointments, insurance coverage and patient referrals.

Coming from outside of Texas?

Our team in Global Health Services supports families who travel to Cook Children's for medical care from across the country and around the world.

Coming from outside of Texas?

Our team in Global Health Services supports families who travel to Cook Children's for medical care from across the country and around the world.

Our concierge service is here to help with every detail. We'll work with your family to:

Schedule appointments
Plan travel
Find accommodations
Offer financial counseling and insurance approvals
Arrange translation services

Please contact our Global Health Services care coordinator to arrange your visit to Cook Children's:

682-885-4685 phone
682-885-2557 fax
globalhealthservices@cookchildrens.org

We're here to help.

If your child has been diagnosed, you probably have lots of questions. We can help. If you would like to schedule an appointment, refer a patient or speak to our staff, please call our offices at 682-885-1990