Liver disease affects newborns, toddlers and teenagers and has many adverse effects — not only on liver function, but also on the child's growth, development and intellectual achievement. Chronic liver disease impacts physical and psychosocial development and affects family interactions and dynamics. So a multidisciplinary approach to care and treatment provided by a team of experts in pediatric disorders is essential for the best outcomes.

Comprehensive team approach

The Pediatric Liver Consultation Service at Mayo Clinic provides a comprehensive approach to treating liver disorders by physicians certified in advanced hepatology and liver transplant.

Mayo's multidisciplinary team caring for children with liver disorders includes pediatric gastroenterologists, pediatric hepatologists, pediatric registered nurses, physician assistants, pediatric dietitians, psychologists, radiologists, transplant and general surgeons, as well as other experts in pediatric subspecialties, such as renal and heart and endocrine diseases.

In addition to clinical care, members of the Pediatric Liver Clinic are involved in clinical and translational research and education, and active in several national and international advisory groups.

Services offered

Mayo's Pediatric Liver Clinic offers these services in a child-friendly environment:

• Collaboration with other pediatric subspecialists for a team approach, tailored to your child's needs
• State-of-the-art diagnostic imaging, such as magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), a noninvasive procedure to evaluate the bile ducts of the liver; magnetic resonance elastography, which estimates liver stiffness and scar tissue formation; other imaging techniques for vascular, biliary, and tissue imaging
• Liver biopsies performed under anesthesia by interventional radiologists with ultrasound guidance to assure comfort and safety, and dedicated pathology expertise with a long tradition of liver disease interest at Mayo Clinic
• Comprehensive treatment and long-term management of children with congenital liver disease, such as biliary atresia (poorly formed bile ducts) with excellent results using the Kasai procedure
• Pediatric liver transplant program with transplant surgeons who have expertise in deceased- and living-donor liver transplants
• Extensive experience with liver and kidney transplant for oxalosis and polycystic kidney disease
• Collaboration with adult experts who specialize in complex endoscopy to treat certain biliary conditions
• Seamless transition of young adult patients to adult hepatologists with expertise in congenital liver disease and post-transplantation care
• Special interest in primary sclerosing cholangitis and autoimmune liver disease, following the long tradition of expertise in these disorders at Mayo Clinic, with the largest pediatric cohort study of these patients in the country
• Special interest in the emerging impact of fatty liver disease in children and in pediatric patients transplanted for liver cancer, including living-related transplant

Conditions treated

The Pediatric Liver Clinic at Mayo Clinic diagnoses and treats a wide variety of liver diseases and disorders, including the most complex. Here are some examples:

• Acute liver failure — the liver rapidly loses its ability to function — at any age including neonatal liver failure as in neonatal hemochromatosis
• Alpha1 antitrypsin-deficiency
• Autoimmune hepatitis — inflammation caused by the immune system attacking liver cells
• Biliary atresia
• Chronic viral hepatitis — hepatitis B or C that lasts longer than six months, causing liver inflammation
• Cryptogenic cirrhosis — liver scarring with no identifiable cause
• Drug-related liver disease with loss of the bile ducts
• End-stage liver disease
• Familial intrahepatic cholestasis conditions
• Liver transplant, including living-donor liver transplant for teenagers
• Metabolic liver disease — inborn error of metabolism presenting with liver dysfunction
• Neonatal cholestasis — accumulation of bile contents that infants are unable to excrete
• Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease — fat accumulating in the liver
• Portal hypertension — high blood pressure in the major vein that carries blood from the digestive system into the liver
• Primary sclerosing cholangitis — hardening and scarring of the bile ducts

Appointments

Make an appointment at Mayo Clinic Children's Center and learn about patient services.

Nov. 08, 2014

Original article: https://www.mayoclinic.org/departments-centers/childrens-center/overview/specialty-groups/pediatric-liver-clinic