Download

SCD friendly Pediatric GI doctors

This list of doctors will be updated on a regular basis. The names are being submitted by parents from the support group I moderate on Facebook, SCD Families.

doctorandapple

 

Please note, these physicians are supportive of therapeutic diets as an optional treatment for IBD but you should not expect your GI team to teach you the diet.

Given the growing length of this list, I have grouped it by state.

Alabama

  • Dr. David Galloway @ Children’s of Alabama, Birmingham, AL. Supports my daughter being on the SCD diet.

Arizona

  • Dr. Brad Pasternak @ Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Phoenix, AZ.
  • Dr. Gary Silber @ Phoenix children’s Hospital, Phoenix, AZ.

California

  • Dr. Eric Vasiliauskas @ Cedars-Sinai Hospital, Beverly Hills, CA.
  • Dr. Yinka Davies @ Sacramento Pediatric Gastroenterology, Sacramento CA http://www.sacpedsgi.com/
  • Dr. Gilberto Bultron @ Mindful Pediatric Gastroenterology in Pasadena, CA.
  • Dr. Fink @ Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Stanford, CA.
  • Dr. Rebecca Cherry @ Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego, CA.
  • Dr. Goyal @ Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego (recommended it before drugs!)
  • Dr. Dorsey Bass @ Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital, Stanford, CA. From the initial diagnosis, he laid out our options and left the decision up to us. EEN followed by SCD was one option and medication was another. I am so thankful that he never pressured us to put our daughter on medication. He is great!
  • Dr. KT Park @ Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital, Stanford, CA
  • Dr. Namita Singh @ Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA. She and her dietitian were knowledgeable of the diet and even gave us some recipes and hints of local restaurants , and said if any diet questions that they don’t know answer they have connection with Seattle children’s and they can reach out.

Connecticut

  • Dr. Mark S. Glassman, Norwalk, CT. He is supportive of SCD depending on how severe the Crohn’s is.

Florida

  • Dr. Hadeel Al-Atrash @ Nemours Hospital in Orlando, FL is supportive of SCD.
  • Dr. Pablo Palomo @ Nemours Hospital in Orlando, FL is supportive of SCD.

Georgia

  • Dr. William Meyers @ GI Care for Kids, Atlanta Children’s Hospital, Atlanta, GA.  (404) 257-0799. (SCD was his suggestion at our first appointment after diagnosis for Crohns)
  • Dr. Benjamin Gold @ GI Care for Kids, Atlanta Children’s Hospital, GA
  • Dr. Jeffrey Lewis @ GI Care for Kids, Atlanta Children’s Hospital, GA
  • Dr. Cohen @ GI Care for Kids, Atlanta Children’s Hospital, GA
  • Dr. Jay Hochman @ GI Care for Kids, Atlanta, GA. We suggested the diet to him instead of him suggesting it to us, but he has been very supportive of our choice.

Idaho

  • Dr. Tyler Burpee @  St Luke’s Regional Center, Boise Idaho. He first suggested EEN diet for us then he suggested SCD diet.

Illinois

  • Dr. Randolph McConnie @ Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL. (312) 942-2889 . He is Chief of Ped GI. and his philosophy is diet first.
  • Dr. Jennifer Strople @ Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, IL. (312) 227-4200.  Dr. Strople is open to SCD.
  • Dr. McConnie @ Rush University in Chicago. Dr. McConnie is open to SCD after EEN.
  • Dr. Prashanth Porayette, Pediatric Gastroenterologist, Springfield, IL.
    Open and recommended SCD.
  • Dr. Michael A. Malandra @ Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, IL. He sees patients in Winfield, IL, and Geneva, IL. Michael A. Malandra is passively supportive of SCD. He did not suggest it to us nor does he council us on how to follow the diet, but when we said we would like to try it, he was supportive and has been impressed with our son’s success. I did ask his permission to have him listed here and he was okay with that.

Indiana

  • Dr. Rebecca Carey @ St. Mary’s Center for Children Pediatric Gastroenterology Clinic, Evansville, IN.

Maryland

  • Dr. Gihan Naguib @ Johns Hopkins (Pediatric), Baltimore, MD. Dr. Naguib tolerates our SCD journey and is surprised with my child’s ability to embrace the changes.

Massachusetts

  • Dr. Fusunyan @ Revere-Winthrop TLC Pediatrics, 280 Beach Street Revere, MA 02151 Tel: 781-289-5057 Fax: 781-289-4485. Many of his IBD patients,are on the diet.

Michigan

    • Dr. Russell Cameron @ Bronson Pediatric Gastroenterology, Kalamazoo, MI. (269) 341-7784.
    • Dr Ayesha Fatima @ Beaumont Pediatric Subspecialties, Royal Oak, MI.

Mississippi

  • Dr. April Ulmer @ Digestive Health Center, Biloxi, MS. She has been extremely supportive of our choice to try SCD.
  • Dr. Phyllis Bishop @ UMMC in Jackson, MS. She supports trying diet changes before medication and is knowledgeable of SCD.

Missouri

  • Dr. Alka Goyal @ Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, MO. She is supportive of the diet.
  •  

Montana

  • Dr. Thomas E. Flass, Kalispell Montana, Pediatric Gastroenterologist.

New Hampshire

  • Dr. Susan Edwards @ CHAD, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH.

New York

  • Dr. Marla Dubinsky, New York City, New York. She is not offering SCD to patients but is supportive of our decision to practive SCD therapy and open to listening.
  • Dr. Toni Webster @ Cohen’s Children’s Hospital, Great Neck NY. (516) 472-3650. Very supportive of us using the diet along with medication to get the inflammation down. Understands our goal of using meds and diet to achieve remission then just diet to stay in remission.

North Carolina

  • Dr. Francisco Sylvester @ UNC Chapel Hill, NC. He is chief of Pediatric Gastro and supports SCD as treatment without medication.
  • Dr. John Feerick @ Wake Forest Baptist Winston Salem NC. He is supportive of diet but not knowledgeable about it.

Ohio

  • Dr. Daniel Mallon @ Pediatric Gastroenterology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati, OH. (513) 636-4415.
  • Dr. Vera Hupertz @ The Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH

Oregon

  • Dr. Kathryn Moyer @ Legacy Emmanuel, NW Pediatric Gastroenterology. Portland, Oregon. (503) 281-5139. She is supportive of SCD – and other therapies – but I’m not sure she recommends it as first course of action.
  • Dr. Amy Garcia @ OHSU, Portland, OR
  • Dr. Ramia Ramraj @ Kaiser Permanente in Portland, OR. I personally work with Dr Ramraj at KP and her incredible dietitian, Audry Eastman here in Portland. They make a wonderful team! Very knowledgeable about SCD.
  • Raghu Varier, DO, MSc. @ NW Pediatric Gastroenterology, LLC, Portland, OR 97214. (503) 281-5139

Pennsylvania

  • Dr. Lindsey Albenberg & Dr. Andrew Grossman @ Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Main campus number (215) 590-3630.
  • Dr. Sapana Shah @ Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, PA.
  • Dr. Leah Siebold @ Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, PA
  • Stacey Zettle, MS, RD, LDN @  Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, PA. Stacey has also attended a workshop at Seattle Children’s Hospital and developed a handout on SCD.

South Carolina

  • Dr. Emily Kevan, Greenville, SC.

Tennessee

  • M. Samer Ammar, MD, Pediatric Gastroenterologist @ Centennial Womens & Children’s Hospital, Nashville, TN. He is open to diet therapy. He is in the beginning phase of learning about SCD diet. We may be his first patients using the diet for colitis.

Texas

  • Dr. Michelle Alkalay @ Children’s Health Legacy Campus in Plano, TX. They are part of Children’s Medical Center in Dallas (now called Children’s Health.
  • Dr. John Anderson, Head GI Department @ Children’s Hospital in Dallas, TX. He gave us the book and said get to it! He said if we can get the diet to work we don’t need the meds… he is about 70 yrs old.
  • Dr. Jonathan Ramprasad @ McLane Children’s Scott & White Clinic – Temple, TX (travels 1-2x/month to Round Rock, TX and College Station, TX).  He is supportive and enthusiastic of our use of diet!
  • Dr. Kellermayer @ Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, TX. He has not read the book (and probably won’t any time soon-lol!) but he’s been supportive of my son as long as he’s doing well…And he’s actually recommended that a few other families try scd too…But the hospital dietitians don’t really support it.
  • Dr Robert Zwiener, Austin TX. He is a pediatric GI and introduced me to SCD and suggest me to read Dr Suskind book.

Virginia

  • Dr. Ben Enav @ Pediatric Gastroenterology of Northern Virginia, Fairfax, VA. He suggested SCD right after our daughter was diagnosed with Crohn’s.
  •  Dr. Peter Lee @ Pediatric Specialists of Virginia, Fairfax, VA. He prescribes EEN and SCD, and is knowledgeable in complementary/alternative treatments and nutritional supplements.

Washington

  • Dr. David Suskind @ Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seattle WA.
  • Dr. Ghassan Wahbe @ Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seattle WA.
  • Dr. Dale Lee @ Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seattle WA.
  • Dr Jonah Essers @ Swedish Pediatric Specialty Care, Seattle, WA. When we reached a crossroads in our son’s treatment, he suggested and supported starting SCD, and pointed us in Dr Suskind’s direction for guidance. They now share my son as a patient. So while he himself is not an SCD expert, I would most definitely call Dr Essers SCD Friendly.
  • Dr. Pickens @ Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, Tacoma, WA. Very supportive of SCD. 
  • Dr. Monica Zherebtsov @ Providence Pediatric Gastroenterology, Spokane, WA. Dr. Zherebtsov suggested SCD diet to us. She has also suggested EEN. She is very supportive and keeps up on research

Wisconsin

  • Dr. Daniel O’Connell @ American Family Children’s Hospital, Madison, WI. Recommended SCD for treatment of Crohn’s.

Switzerland

 SCD friendly Adult GI doctors

Alabama

  • Dr. Joseph Brasco @ Digestive Disease Center, Huntsville, AL. Office: (256) 9031. He co-authored “Restoring Your Digestive Health” and is very receptive to using the SCD to manage and treat IBD.

California

  • Dr. Eric Vasiliauskas @ Cedars-Sinai Hospital, Beverly Hills, CA.

New York

  • Dr. James George @ Mt. Sinai Hospital in NYC. In general, he is supportive of the diet.

Washington

  • Dr. Timothy Zisman @ Digestive Disease Center, University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle, WA

Wisconsin

  • Dr. Brittany White @ Associates Gastroenterology S.C.,  Appleton, WI.  Office: (920) 738-7300. She is completely on board with SCD, believes in natural treatments such as diet, and she is also experienced in SIBO. She only treats 16 years and older

68 Comments

  2. Dr. Rebecca Cherry of Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego, CA recommended it and is personally on SCD to treat her IBD.

  3. Dr. Ben Enav, Pediatric Gastroenterology of Northern Virginia, (Fairfax, VA) suggested SCD right after our daughter was diagnosed with Crohn’s.

  4. Please add: Dr Francisco Sylvester at UNC Chapel Hill in North Carolina. He is chief of pediatric Gastro and supports SCD as treatment with out medication

  6. Please consider adding Dr. Joseph Brasco – Huntsville, AL. He co-authored “Restoring Your Digestive Health” and is very receptive to using the SCD to manage and treat IBD.

    Office: (256) 536-9031

  8. Dr. Jonathan Ramprasad, McLane Children’s Scott & White Clinic – Temple, TX (travels 1-2x/month to Round Rock, TX and College Station, TX.) He is supportive and enthusiastic of our use of diet!

  10. So happy to see this list growing. We pesently go to Dr Cohen in Atlanta, love him but we live in Florida. If anyone has a Florida GI who support SCD please let me know:) Thanks

  11. Hi! You can add Dr. James George, an adult gastroenterologist, from Mt. Sinai Hospital in NYC. I’ve seen him and, in general, he is supportive of the diet.

  13. Dr. April Ulmer
    Digestive Health Center
    Biloxi, MS

    She has been extremely supportive of our choice to try SCD.

  14. Dr. Phyllis Bishop at UMMC in Jackson, MS

    She supports trying diet changes before medication and is knowledgeable of SCD.

  15. Hi,

    Does anyone see Dr. Fusunyan @ Revere-Winthrop TLC Pediatrics for their GI? I looked on the TLC Pediatrics website, and he’s not listed on there. He is, however, listed on the Boston Children’s Hospital website as a Pediatrician. Thinking of moving that way, but would like to confirm that there’s a GI doc up there who supports SCD. Thank you!!

    Katie

  16. M. Samer Ammar, MD, Pediatric Gastroenterologist at Centennial Womens & Children’s Hospital, Nashville, TN

    He is open to diet therapy. He is in the beginning phase of learning about SCD diet. We may be his first patients using the diet for colitis.

  17. Dr. Daniel O’Connell -American Family Children’s Hospital – Madison, Wi recommended SCD for treatment of Crohn’s.

  24. Dr Robert Zwiener in Austin TX. He is pediatric GI and introduce me to SCD and suggest me to read Dr Suskind book.

  27. My daughter sees Dr. Jonah Essers at Swedish Pediatrics hospital in Seattle. Although he did not mention SCD to us when she was first diagnosed, he was supportive of her choice to try it when we discovered it on our own, even giving us the heads up about Dr. Suskind’s trial at Children’s, which we participated in. My daughter has since aged out of Children’s, but Dr. Essers will keep her through her college years, which is a wonderful thing. So – passively supportive. He’s a really nice guy.

  28. I would recommend Dr. Jay Hochman, another doctor from GI Care for Kids, Atlanta. We suggested the diet to him instead of him suggesting it to us, but he has been very supportive of our choice.

  30. Illinois – Dr. Michael A. Malandra is passively supportive of SCD. He did not suggest it to us nor does he council us on how to follow the diet, but when we said we would like to try it, he was supportive and has been impressed with our son’s success. I did ask his permission to have him listed here and he was okay with that.

    Michael A. Malandra, MD. Affiliated with Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital (Chicago, IL). He sees patients in Winfield, IL, and Geneva, IL. https://www.luriechildrens.org/en-us/care-services/find-a-doctor/Pages/Malandra_Michael_3643.aspx

  31. Dr. Monica Zherebtsov in Spokane, Washington suggested SCD diet to us. She has also suggested EEN. She is very supportive and keeps up on research

  34. Hi! Curious if anyone knows of a list like for adults? Or recommendations for adult GI doctors that are familiar with SCD diet? I am looking in the Atlanta, GA area. Thank you!

    • There are a few adult GI doctors at the tail end of the list, but we get far fewer submissions for adults as the focus we have had has been on the needs of children and teens. We would be happy to break those out and start an adult only list if the demand warrants it.

      • Would you please make a list of adult only GI doctors/centers that are knowledgeable in the SCD diet? Not just supportive, but know about the diet and can help a young adult male navigate and monitor the diet and its effectiveness…such as the Seattle’s Children Hospital and Dr. Suskind.

  35. I would like to recommend Dr. Peter Lee at Pediatric Specialists of Virginia. He prescribes EEN and SCD, and is knowledgeable in complementary/alternative treatments and nutritional supplements. He seems aware that meds and tests can cause harm, he does not overtest or overtreat. He listens and responds to questions. He is there with guidance when needed. He is up to date with modern research and takes a whole child approach. He is very good with children, he is very warm towards them and takes his time. He is also aware that children listen and pay attention, so he acts and speaks accordingly. He keeps composure even when parents’ nerves lay blank. I think he is a gem and I trust that he only prescribes medication when it is needed. I feel that he truly cares about the children in his care.

  36. Hello,
    if youre able to share names of functional gastroenterologists for adults who support the SCD diet in Northern VA or Washington DC or Baltiore MD, , Charlottesville VA and New York City, that would be quite helpful.

    Thank you

  37. Hi there,
    Any one from Sick Kids in Toronto Canada or anywhere else in Toronto Canada, I prefer GI?
    Thank you!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.