Inflammatory Bowel Disease Treatments and Services
At the Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Center, our expert team works together to create a personalized treatment plan for your child that is safe and effective.
The goals of treatment include:
- Improving symptoms and achieving remission (with little to no symptoms) for a long period of time
- Healing the intestinal lining and preventing complications and damage to the bowel
- Promoting normal growth and development
- Limiting the use of prednisone (or other steroids)
- Limiting interruptions caused by IBD in your daily life
Medical and Nutritional IBD Treatments
Medical and nutritional therapies provide significant relief for most children with IBD. These therapies generally include medication and diet.
- Medication - Medication is part of almost every child’s IBD treatment plan. In most cases, it is used to reduce the inflammation that triggers IBD symptoms while minimizing pain. These medications can include biologics, immunomodulators, small molecule drugs and probiotics. Cincinnati Children’s IBD specialists are leaders in providing personalized dosing for IBD medication. This approach to dosing ensures that your child receives the most benefit from the medication, with the fewest side effects.
- Personalized Nutrition - What your child eats plays an important role in managing IBD for two reasons. One is because proper nutrition helps children grow and boosts the immune system. The other is because some foods are known to trigger symptoms of IBD. Our team will work closely with you and your child to create a personalized nutrition plan that addresses your child’s needs. In general, we encourage a balanced, nutritious diet for our patients with IBD. Our expert dietitians are available to discuss various dietary approaches, answer your questions and address any concerns you may have.
- Nutritional Supplements - Even with good eating habits, children with IBD sometimes don’t get all the nutrients they need to grow and develop. This is because the inflammation in the intestines that is associated with IBD can interfere with digestion. Your child’s doctor or dietitian may recommend a daily multivitamin, nutritional supplements or high-calorie liquid formulas.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease Surgeries
Your child might need surgery if medication and nutrition do not bring symptoms under control or if their intestines are significantly damaged by IBD. About 15% of children with ulcerative colitis and about 40% of children with Crohn’s disease will need surgery during their lifetime with IBD.
Our expert IBD team considers surgical recommendations very carefully. Surgery isn’t the right treatment for everyone. But based on our experience and research, we believe that providing the right surgery at the right time, in combination with optimal medical therapy to prevent future symptoms, can be a major win for some children with IBD.
Why Choose Cincinnati Children’s for IBD Surgery
What makes an IBD surgery program exceptional? At Cincinnati Children’s, we believe the keys to success include having experienced colorectal surgeons and an integrated team approach.
- Experienced colorectal surgeons - Colorectal surgeons are pediatric surgeons who specialize in treating disorders of the small intestine, colon, rectum and anus, including IBD. At Cincinnati Children’s, our colorectal surgeons perform many IBD surgeries every year, including complex reconstructive surgeries. When it comes to achieving a successful surgical outcome, this kind of experience matters.
- Minimally invasive surgeries - When possible, our surgeons use the latest minimally invasive (laparoscopic and robotic) techniques available. These techniques are associated with less postoperative pain and shorter hospital stays.
- An integrated, team approach - Pediatric colorectal surgeons and pediatric gastroenterologists are a tight-knit team at the IBD Center. They meet regularly to talk about patients who may benefit from surgery. Their conversations include whether the time is right to recommend surgery, whether more tests are needed to decide, and if other medical therapies should be tried first. These physicians rely on data, years of training, their extensive experience and input from other team members to reach a decision together.
Learn more about the surgeries we offer for children with IBD.
