Why Choose Us

Nationally Recognized Excellence

U.S. News & World Report has recognized Seattle Children's as one of the top 10 best children's hospitals in the U.S. and the best in the Pacific Northwest. Our Gastroenterology and Hepatology Program is ranked among the top 10 pediatric gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery programs in the country, which means your child will be cared for by the very best.

Advanced Treatments and Compassionate Care

• Our number-one goal is to get your child back to growing, learning and doing the things your child loves best.
• Our program combines innovation and expert care to provide your child with treatment options that go beyond traditional care, like diagnostic methods that emit low or no radiation, including ultrasounds at the bedside, and novel diets to treat inflammatory bowel disease.
• Our providers treat the most complex and rare conditions, including Hirschsprung’s disease, short bowel syndrome, and motility disorders.
• Our Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center brings a team of specialists together in one place to give your child and family effective and complete care.
• We have the only liver, liver transplant and small bowel transplant programs for children in the Pacific Northwest, as well as the only bowel rehabilitation program.
• Dr. Lusine Ambartsumyan provides accurate diagnosis and comprehensive care for children and adolescents with motility disorders.

We Treat the Whole Child

• Our team helps your child understand and cope with their illness by treating your whole child, not just their symptoms. Members of our team have special training not only in their field, but also in the unique needs of children and adolescents. We know that gastrointestinal and liver problems affect children and teens differently than adults.
• You know your child best. We'll discuss treatments in ways that you can understand, so that you and your child are involved in every decision.
• Our team includes specialists in adolescent medicine to address the specific physical, mental and emotional needs of adolescents.
• Medicine isn't always the answer for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Diet plays a big role. We offer options such as exclusive enteral nutrition and the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), always with the guidance of pediatric dietitians.
• Whenever possible, we use diagnostic methods that use low or no radiation, such as ultrasound and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging).

Experts Together in One Place

• Our team includes pediatric gastroenterologists, hepatologists (liver specialists), dietitians, surgeons, psychologists, nurses, social workers and child life specialists.
• Our gastroenterologists and hepatologists are nationally and internationally recognized for the care they provide, their research discoveries and their advocacy work.
• We coordinate your appointments so that you can see multiple providers in a single visit.
• Based on your child's needs, your team will work with other Seattle Children's experts, such as immunologists, allergists and radiologists.

We’re Developing Better Treatments

• Researchers in our program design and develop new treatments to transform care for children with gastrointestinal and liver conditions. Your child will have access to the most current, state-of-the-art therapies, many of which are only available through clinical trials.
• Dr. David Suskind is co-leading the first large national study of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) to treat IBD. The study investigates 2 versions of the SCD to see if they reduce symptoms and inflammation.
• We're part of the Hepatitis B Research Network (HBRN). This is a group of seven pediatric centers around the country collecting data to learn more about hepatitis B, and using innovative therapies to treat this persistent infection.
• We are involved in research providing the most advanced therapies for persistent hepatitis C and other liver diseases.
• We're one of just 14 pediatric hospitals around the world participating in a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study on childhood pancreatitis.
• We're able to offer many therapies that are only available through clinical studies.

When You Need Us, We're Here for You

• We offer same- or next-day appointments for urgent cases.
• For your convenience, our providers see patients in many locations. You can come to our hospital campus in Seattle, or our clinics in Bellevue, Everett, Federal Way, Olympia and Richland.