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Children with complex colorectal disorders, which can cause loss of bowel control or difficulty with bowel movements, need two things: the combined skill of pediatric medical and surgical experts to improve their symptoms, and a compassionate care team to manage the emotional stress and social challenges these conditions bring.

At the Pediatric Complex Colorectal Care Program, we evaluate each child individually to determine the best treatment strategy for their condition. Either nonsurgical approaches—such as medication, nutrition, or physical therapy—or surgical treatments may be used to correct structural problems with the colon or rectum. Social work and genetic counseling round out this team-based program. As part of Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at ºÙºÙÊÓƵ, we all work together to create a treatment plan to help your child achieve bowel control and provide support to reduce the physical and emotional stress these conditions often cause.

Conditions We Treat

Many of the children we see experience loss of bowel control or problems with bowel movements because of complex conditions, including the following:

• imperforate anus, in which the opening of the anus is missing or abnormal
• Hirschsprung disease, which causes difficulty with passing stool
• cloacal exstrophy, in which organs of the lower abdomen are exposed on the outside of the body
• fecal incontinence, the inability to control bowel movements
• rectal prolapse, when the rectum slips down from its normal position
• bowel or bladder disorders related to spina bifida or other nervous system conditions
• chronic constipation that does not respond to standard treatments and that has no known cause

We help you and your child understand why a particular condition is causing symptoms and how to move forward with a treatment plan to improve quality of life.

Family-Centered, Team-Based Care

A family-centered approach to care is critical to managing a colorectal disorder, and all our treatment decisions are based on this principle. We seek to understand which aspects of your child’s colorectal condition are causing the most trouble, and develop a targeted, personalized treatment strategy to address them.

Your child’s care team may include pediatric pathologists, radiologists, urologists, and gastrointestinal motility experts. Nurses, nurse practitioners, physical therapists, nutritionists, social workers, and geneticists are also vital to our care team. In addition, we closely collaborate with your child’s pediatrician, ensuring that a trusted primary care provider is at the center of all treatment decisions. Our program’s nurse coordinator schedules appointments with these providers and helps educate children and their families about complex colorectal conditions and care.

We provide support services through Sala Institute for Child and Family Centered Care to help you and your child cope with a complex colorectal condition. Our facility includes child-friendly waiting rooms, and our patients have ready access to child life specialists.