The Division of Pediatric Colorectal & Pelvic Reconstruction's Colorectal Transition Program helps children with congenital or acquired colorectal conditions transition their care from pediatric care providers to adult care providers. It is critical that these children receive specialty care because they often have complex medical and surgical histories from the time they are born. We seek to empower teens and young adults to become effective advocates for their own healthcare needs as they become more independent.
Our Providers
Our pediatric specialists provide personalized care for your child’s physical, mental and emotional health needs.
Contact Information
For information or to make an appointment, call 202-476-2656 or email us.
Colorectal & Pelvic Reconstruction
The Division of Pediatric Colorectal & Pelvic Reconstruction has a variety of programs and services to help care for and treat your child’s needs.
Choosing Children’s National for Colorectal Transition Care
Our team's expertise in pediatric colorectal care, coupled with our adult partners at MedStar/Georgetown allow for a bridge of care between the pediatric and adult worlds. This linkage will foster long-term relationships and build the depth of the team providing clinical care to all our patients and their families. Similar transition programs already exist for other conditions such as congenital heart disease and cystic fibrosis.
Teenagers and adults who will benefit most from this program include those with conditions such as:
- Congenital and acquired colorectal disease, such as cloaca and other anorectal malformations
- Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis
- Pelvic floor dysfunction
- Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP)
- Hirschsprung's disease
- Cecostomy or complex reconstruction
- Spina bifida
Multiple Specialties Offer a Continuum of Care
The collaboration between Children’s National Hospital and MedStar Washington Hospital Center means we can bring unprecedented partnership with urology, gynecology and gastroenterology on the adult side to the people we serve and offer a full complement of services. The team there includes Brain Bello, MD, (colorectal), Nathan Shaw, MD, (urology) and Lauren Damle, MD, (obstetrics/gynecology), who follow patients from diagnosis through treatment and long-term follow-up care. This parallels the multidisciplinary approach already available to pediatric patients in the Division of Colorectal & Pelvic Reconstruction.
We transition our existing young adult patients through this program. We also have seen many adult patients who have been struggling to find care since leaving their pediatric institution. These patients have come from the local area as well as nationally and internationally to find the experienced and collaborative care they have been desperately seeking.
