Muma Children’s Hospital at TGH Conducts First Pediatric Transnasal Endoscopy in Tampa Bay Region
Published: Jan 14, 2025Muma Children’s Hospital is the first in the region to employ a minimally invasive pediatric transnasal endoscopy.
Tampa, FL (Jan. 14, 2025) – Muma Children’s Hospital at Tampa General Hospital (TGH) is the first hospital and academic health system in the Tampa Bay region to begin performing unsedated pediatric gastrointestinal (GI) transnasal endoscopies (TNE) as part of its rapidly growing pediatric gastroenterology Center of Excellence. TNE is an innovative, minimally invasive procedure that allows a young pediatric patient’s upper GI tract to be assessed visually and with biopsies conducted without the need for general anesthesia. A camera attached to a thin, flexible tube is passed through the patient’s nose and into the esophagus, stomach and even into the small intestine to view and sample the patient’s GI tract. The procedure is often used for patients with eosinophilic esophagitis (EOE) who can experience symptoms such as reflux, difficulty swallowing and poor growth.
“Offering procedures, like a TNE, is critical to improve care for our children,” said Nikki Hurley, interim vice president of Muma Children’s Hospital at TGH and TGH Women’s Institute. “While TNEs have been offered to adults for several years, the procedure hasn’t been widely available in the care of young children until recently. Through the collaboration of Muma Children’s Hospital and USF Health, our GI Center of Excellence is leading and transforming the way we care for children in the Tampa Bay area, and ultimately improving outcomes."
Transnasal endoscopies have proved to be an excellent approach to monitoring chronic conditions that require repeat procedures in the upper GI tract as pediatric patients are often able to return to normal activities immediately after the procedure. The technology has been widely recognized for advancing gastroenterology and is markedly less invasive, more comfortable and requires less time than traditional endoscopies, such as an esophagogastroduodenoscopy, which requires general anesthesia.
“This safe and quick procedure opens doors for so many of our young and vulnerable patients,” said Dr. Racha Khalaf, Medical Director of Pediatric GI at Muma Children’s Hospital at TGH, and an associate professor and Chief of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. “Our ability to provide TNE, an innovative, effective and safe tool in pediatric care, will greatly benefit Tampa Bay patients and reduce the risks associated with traditional endoscopy and decrease the need for sedation.”
To learn more about Muma Children’s Hospital’s GI program or to schedule an appointment, visit: https://www.tgh.org/institutes-and-services/childrens-hospital/childrens-hospital-programs/pediatric-gastroenterology