Pediatric Liver Disease & Transplant Program

At the Pediatric Liver Disease and Transplant Program, we provide expert care for all conditions that affect the liver. This begins with the use of advanced imaging and testing to accurately diagnose your child’s condition. We also provide access to the most-advanced treatments available, including liver transplant if needed.

Our pediatric hepatologists are leaders in the field and actively involved in research into new treatments for liver diseases. Our pediatric liver surgeons, among the most experienced in the country, have performed more than 200 pediatric liver transplants.

In addition, Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone has been designated a Level 1 Children’s Surgery Center by the American College of Surgeons in recognition of our ability to provide the safest, highest level of surgical care to our patients. Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital is also home to Sala Institute for Child and Family Centered Care, whose programs personalize the healthcare experience and support parents and caregivers as key members of their child’s care team.

Liver Diseases We Treat

Liver diseases have a host of causes, including infections, autoimmune disease, metabolic disorders, ingestion of toxins, and congenital or inherited conditions. Because of their extensive training and experience, the team at the Pediatric Liver Disease and Transplant Program is able to treat all conditions that affect the liver. These are some of the most commonly diagnosed conditions:

• biliary atresia
• acute liver failure from any cause
• autoimmune liver disease, including autoimmune hepatitis and primary sclerosing cholangitis
• cholestatic liver disease
• congenital conditions, including Alagille syndrome, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC), and Wilson disease
• gallbladder or bile duct disorders
• liver tumors, including hepatoblastoma and hepatocellular carcinoma
• metabolic and fatty liver disease
• neonatal cholestasis
• viral hepatitis, including hepatitis B and hepatitis C

Liver diseases can be difficult to diagnose, especially in their early stages. We perform advanced blood and imaging tests as well as a liver biopsy, when necessary, to provide accurate diagnosis for each child. We offer the most advanced diagnostic testing, including the following:

• 3T MRI, which uses twice the strength of standard MRI to provide clearer images than standard MRI
• FibroScan, a highly specialized, noninvasive ultrasound test that can assess liver scarring, stiffness, and fat buildup in the liver and that can be easily performed during an office visit
• endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) or percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography (PTC), which use a dye paired with X-ray imaging to look for narrowing or blockages in the bile ducts and liver
• molecular genetic testing, to look for gene mutations associated with certain inherited diseases

Our Personalized Treatment

Our medical and surgical experts collaborate to determine the best treatment based on your child’s diagnosis, symptoms, and prognosis. Such treatment may include medications to fight infection, control inflammation, or enhance bile flow through the liver. Our registered dietitian also offers nutrition guidance.

We offer nonsurgical and surgical treatment options, including surgical shunts and the Kasai procedure to reconstruct bile ducts in children with biliary atresia. We specialize in advanced endoscopic techniques, such as endoscopic control of complications of advanced liver disease. We also partner with experts in interventional radiology who perform minimally invasive procedures. These include transarterial chemoembolization to shrink liver tumors, transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) placements to improve blood flow through the liver, and radiofrequency and cryoablation of tumors.

Liver Transplant for Children

Our experts help families weigh the treatment options. If a liver transplant proves to be the best option, we are able to perform several different types, depending on your child’s needs and organ availability. They include the following:

• living donor transplant, where a person donates a portion of their liver to the patient, using minimally invasive surgical techniques
• split liver transplant, where the liver from a deceased donor is divided in two, providing organs for two different patients
• whole liver transplant, from a deceased donor
• combined solid organ transplants, such as liver and kidney or liver and heart

Our liver transplant services are offered through the NYU Langone Transplant Institute, where our doctors perform more transplants than any other hospital in the Northeast.

Support Services

Through Sala Institute for Child and Family Centered Care, we provide support services for your child as well as your family. This includes child life services, a social worker, and a registered dietitian. We strive to make sure your child and family understand all aspects of the treatment process, including transplant when necessary. This includes the different options for living, whole, or split transplantation, recovery after transplant, and lifelong care. We coordinate with our NYU Langone colleagues to provide a seamless transition from pediatric to adult care, to ensure that your child continues to receive the care they need later in life.