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Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
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Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh

ICARE and Alternatives to Intestinal Transplantation

UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh is recognized worldwide as a leader in the care of children with advanced intestinal disease. Our experts explore all treatment possibilities before recommending the best option to improve the quality of life for each patient.

Sometimes, disease management is the best alternative to transplant, either because of the child’s age, his or her disease state, or because it will provide the greatest benefit with the least risk for the child. If an intestinal or multiorgan transplant becomes necessary, our multidisciplinary team takes the appropriate steps to keep children as healthy, strong, and complication-free as possible before surgery to optimize outcomes and improve their chances of experiencing normal growth and development in the years to come.

Intestinal Care and Rehabilitation Center (ICARE)

Children’s is one of the first and among the nation’s largest multidisciplinary centers dedicated to pediatric intestinal care and rehabilitation for patients with complicated intestinal disorders. The multidisciplinary team at UPMC Children’s Hospital’s Intestinal Care and Rehabilitation Center (ICARE) involves both medical and surgical consultations in every evaluation in order to determine the best approach for each child.

Intestinal transplantation provides a well-understood benefit for many types of disease, but there is also a well-known set of risks associated with transplantation. Sometimes, doctors are able to provide benefits similar to intestine transplantation with an alternative procedure that carries less risk to the child. Our intestine specialists use their years of expertise to create a therapeutic treatment plan for each individual child to provide the greatest benefit with the least risk.

ICARE offers the most innovative and comprehensive approaches to the diagnosis, treatment, and management of pediatric intestinal disorders and complex or chronic digestive conditions.

Our program offers:

  • an independent multidisciplinary service (including gastroenterology, clinical nutrition, pediatric surgery, and transplant surgery) covering inpatient, outpatient, consultation, and endoscopy services dedicated to the care of patients with intestinal disorders
  • a registry starting in 1996 approaching 500 patients
  • staff with more than 85 years of physician and advanced practice nursing experience
  • ongoing research to develop innovative approaches that will improve patient care and quality of life

Intestine Conditions We Treat

The Intestinal Care and Rehabilitation Center at Children's treats a wide array of intestinal diseases with advanced therapeutic treatment plans such as portosystemic shunt surgery for refractory variceal hemorrhage. Below are the most common conditions we treat:

Meet Our ICARE Team

Our multidisciplinary team includes gastroenterologists, clinical nutritionists, pediatric surgeons, and transplant surgeons covering a breadth of services, including inpatient, outpatient, consultation, and endoscopy services.

Contact Us

To schedule an appointment or request a consultation to discuss a child’s condition, contact us at 412-692-5217 or 412-692-6906.

UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
Hillman Center for Pediatric Transplantation
4401 Penn Avenue, Floor 3
Pittsburgh, PA 15224
412-692-7355 Fax