Pancreas and Liver Care Center
Patient-Centered Care, State-of-the-Art Facilities
The Pancreas and Liver Care Center at Nationwide Children's Hospital
The Pancreas and Liver Care Center provides the complete range of treatment for children with any type of pancreas or liver problem. The team includes the nation's leading medical and surgical experts in pancreas and liver care. From imaging, advanced and interventional endoscopy, and comprehensive pain management to complex surgical procedures, the team does it all. In fact, some procedures are so advanced that Nationwide Children's is one of only a few centers in the world that has the capabilities to offer them.
Every patient receives a thorough evaluation of their health needs. This helps the team develop thoughtful, timely and personalized treatment plans that take every patient's history, conditions and lifestyle into consideration.
Nationwide Children's is ranked by U.S. News & World Report in all 10 specialties and on the prestigious Honor Roll of Best Children’s Hospitals.
About the Pancreas and Liver Care Center
It's not just who treats your child that makes a difference at Nationwide Children's. It's how your child is treated here. Helping children feel better is our purpose and what drives the team each day. It's why we do what we do. It's the combination of patient-centered care and state-of-the-art capabilities that makes the Pancreas and Liver Care Center a truly unique environment for healing. When your child comes to our center, you can expect:
- Comprehensive consults and care from a full team of specialists, including the nation’s leading medical and surgical pancreas and liver experts
- Personalized treatment plans designed for every child's and family's situation and health history
- Pain and nutrition management strategies that go beyond medication to improve physical function and quality of life
- Advanced interventional endoscopy including endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)
- Cutting-edge surgical treatments like total pancreatectomy with islet autotransplantation (TPIAT)
- Surgical management based on organ anatomy and structure, as well as genetic risk factors
Learn more about about our programs.
Why Choose the Pancreas and Liver Care Center?
Pancreas and liver conditions are complex and often require ongoing care. Because all of our specialists are located on the same campus, you'll have access to everyone in one place. Advanced clinical, surgical and research programs, as well as leading pancreas and liver care medical experts, mean your child will receive the very best treatment and care here. For children with more complex conditions, we have the resources to develop a care plan for as long as they need one. From surgery to therapy to ongoing follow-up, your team is with you every step of the way.
A National Destination for Pancreas Care
Nationwide Children’s Hospital is consistently named to the prestigious Honor Roll of top 10 children’s hospitals in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, and ranked in all 10 medical and surgical categories, including gastroenterology and GI surgery. From the moment you connect with our team, you’ll feel the difference. It’s not just how the care coordinators make you feel at ease, but it’s the way they help you take care of every detail — from insurance questions and scheduling to planning your stay. Here are more reasons:
- Unsurpassed TPIAT surgical experience. Jaimie D. Nathan, MD, the surgical director of the Pancreas and Liver Care Center, holds the distinction of being the most experienced board-certified pediatric surgeon in the United States, having performed over 100 TPIAT operations.
- One of the nation’s only pediatric hospitals with a dedicated on-site islet isolation facility. This allows us to provide fast, expert islet isolation and transplantation for children undergoing TPIAT. Successful islet isolation is crucial to your child’s chance of living insulin-free after surgery.
- One of the world’s most experienced islet autotransplantation scientists. Director of Islet Cell Transplantation and Beta Cell Biology, Balamurugan Appakalai, PhD, is one of the world’s most experienced in processing pancreases for clinical islet autotransplantation.
- Advanced insulin management expertise to support your child after surgery. As your child recovers from surgery, you will have a team of experts to walk you through insulin care for as long as your child needs it.
- Leadership in national and international pancreas research programs. Our program is a select participant of INSPPIRE (INternational Study group of Pediatric Pancreatitis: In Search for a cuRE), the nation’s largest research consortium dedicated to pediatric pancreatitis. We participate in the POST (Prospective Observational Study of TPIAT) Study, a multi-institutional grant-funded study meant to better understand and improve TPIAT.
- Academic and Clinical Accreditations. Nationwide Children’s is one of only a few pediatric centers in the country performing TPIATs and is recognized by the National Pancreas Foundation (NPF) as both a Clinical and Academic Center of Excellence.
- Support services for the whole family. From our program for traveling families to the on-site amenities and activities we offer for parents and siblings, we’ve thought of it all. When you come to Nationwide Children’s, we make sure you can focus on your child’s health.
- Ronald McDonald House. Conveniently located close to the hospital, the Ronald McDonald House allows you to remain a part of your child’s care team while providing you a home away from home.
- Patient support. Our private Pancreas and Liver Care Center Facebook group gives you a personal, private connection with other families like yours. It’s a place for current and future patient families to share stories, questions, ideas and advice.
Surgical Expertise for Liver Disease and Liver Transplant
Specialty services for complex conditions, including:
- Specialized liver care for patients with congenital heart disease, cystic fibrosis and prematurity
- Fatty liver disease clinic
- Comprehensive genetic, metabolic, and diagnostic immunology laboratories
- World-class imaging facilities, including CT angiography, transient elastography and more
- Diagnostic and interventional endoscopy
Surgical expertise for genetic conditions or liver abnormalities, including:
- Hepatoportoenterostomy (Kasai) for biliary atresia, choledochal cyst resection, and complex tumor and mass resections
- Portal hypertension operations such as meso-Rex, distal splenorenal, and mesocaval shunts
- Internal and external biliary diversions
- Autologous intestinal reconstruction surgery, including the Bianchi procedure and the serial transverse enteroplasty procedure (STEP)
Advanced surgical options for patients who need liver transplants, including:
- Extensive experience in even the most complex liver transplants, including transplants in patients less than 12 months of age
- Areas of expertise include utilizing all technical variant grafts in liver transplantation, including split livers, reduced-sized grafts and living donor liver transplantation, to optimize outcomes and minimize time on the waiting list
Leading the Way to New Treatments and Outcomes Through Clinical Research
Clinical care and research work together. This helps scientists and physicians find new treatments and therapies. Clinical trials done at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute will continue to become more common in daily care at Nationwide Children's. Clinical studies help doctors learn more about conditions and treatment.
The physicians and surgeons at Nationwide Children’s collaborate with other medical professionals and scientists around the nation to develop new treatments, to improve quality of life and raise the standards of care for all children with pancreas and liver disease. We constantly strive to improve patient outcomes while delivering the best quality of care. We also work to advance surgical and medical options for children with pancreas and liver conditions and diseases.
Learn more about current research studies or participate in a clinical trial.
Becoming a Pancreas and Liver Care Center Patient
Families from across the United States and around the world come to the Pancreas and Liver Care Center at Nationwide Children’s. Connect with our team to see how we can help your child.
New Patients
Pancreas and Liver Care Center
Call us at: (614) 938-7522
Physician Referrals and Consultations
Phone: (614) 938-7522 | Fax: (614) 355-2610
Physician Direct Connect Line for 24-hour urgent physician consultations:
(614) 355-0221 or (877) 355-0221
Online Second Opinions
Nationwide Children’s also offers online second opinions for pancreas and liver care. If you are currently receiving care at another institution and would like a second opinion from experts at Nationwide Children’s, please visit our Online Second Opinion Program.
Inside the Pancreas and Liver Care Center
Join Us on Facebook
Our private Pancreas and Liver Care Center Facebook group gives you a personal connection with other families like yours.
It’s a place for current and future patient families to share stories, questions, ideas and advice.