PITTSBURGH – Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of
UPMC has recruited an internationally renowned surgeon, Luis De la Torre, M.D, to establish the new Colorectal Center for Children that will serve as a resource for children from around the world with complex colorectal issues.
Children’s Colorectal Center for Children will provide multidisciplinary medical and surgical care for children who are born with or acquire issues of the bowel or rectum. De la Torre, who pioneered a unique, less invasive surgical approach to the treatment of Hirschsprung’s disease, specializes in the diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of children with complex colorectal conditions, including anorectal malformations; cloaca; fecal incontinence; idiopathic constipation; bowel management; colostomy care; appendicostomy; colon polyps; anal fistula; anal abscesses; and colorectal problems in children with myelomeningocele.
“Dr. De la Torre is recognized as a leader in his field and his recruitment to Children’s enables us to establish a multidisciplinary center that focuses not only on the diagnosis and treatment of these conditions, but on the quality of life of these patients,” said George K. Gittes, M.D, surgeon-in-chief at Children’s and the Benjamin R. Fisher Chair of Pediatric Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
“Dr. De la Torre is an innovative surgeon, but his focus is on providing comprehensive and ongoing care that allows children with these complex colorectal issues to return to lives that are as normal as possible.”
The Colorectal Center for Children will provide comprehensive diagnosis, appropriate treatment and intestinal rehabilitation for children with these complex disorders.
The center will include specialists within gastroenterology, pediatric surgery, and urology with additional training in colorectal diseases, and pediatric nurses specializing in the treatment of wounds, colostomies and bowel management. Pediatric radiologists and pathologists specializing in diseases of the colon also are a part of the center.
“One of the goals of the Colorectal Center is to help recover children’s quality of life and integration into society, including the possible challenges of puberty, sexual function and childbearing as they relate to colorectal issues,” said De la Torre, a surgeon in the Division of Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery.
De la Torre, also associate professor of surgery at the Pitt School of Medicine, comes to Children’s from Hospital Ángeles Puebla in Mexico, where he was founding director of the Colorectal Center for Children and chief of Pediatric Surgery.
De la Torre completed his residency training in Pediatrics and Pediatric Surgery at the Instituto Nacional de Pediatría at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, a hospital internationally known for contributions in the field of pediatric colorectal surgery. He also completed a fellowship in pediatric colorectal surgery at Schneider Children’s Hospital Medical Center, where he trained under internationally known Alberto Pena, M.D.
De La Torre is author of more than 35 peer reviewed articles and numerous book chapters, with many focusing on Hirschsprung’s disease, rehabilitation of children with congenital, acquired and complicated colorectal diseases. He also belongs to the editorial committees of four pediatric surgery journals.
For more information about De la Torre and the Colorectal Center for Children, please visit here.
