Long-term surgery follow-up

Children's Wisconsin offers long-term follow-up care for children born with:

• Esophageal atresia
• Tracheoesophageal fistula
• Congenital diaphragmatic hernia
• Imperforate anus
• Hirschsprung's disease
• Gastroschisis
• Omphalocele and related problems

Why long-term follow-up care?

As recently as 10 years ago, many babies with these problems did not live very long. Because of this, primary care physicians have limited training of the needs of growing children with corrected surgical problems. We would like to help you and your child’s regular doctor know more about your child's needs as he or she grows up.

Each child is different. We take a personal approach and treat children based on their individual needs. We offer long-term follow-up to help families focus on improving the quality of their child's life.

Services

We can provide:

• Information on how your child's surgery will affect the growth and function of other parts of your child's body
• Help to improve feeding skills and make a transition to solid foods for children with esophageal atresia
• A behavioral approach to toilet training and bowel programs after rectal surgery
• Updated information and education for primary care doctors, teachers and baby sitters
• Family support
• A "graduation" visit. As children get older, they often want to know more about their medical history. We give older children a detailed review of their anatomy, surgery and follow-up in words and pictures they can understand

The service includes surgeons, nurses and physician assistants who are trained in pediatric general surgery. They work as a team to meet the individual needs of children and their families.