Dr. Khalaf explains how our team is uniquely qualified to treat patients with Crohn's and ulcerative colitis.
The Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition team is committed to delivering a full range of highest quality, compassionate, up-to-date, state-of-the-art, multidisciplinary, and personalized care for pediatric patients with gastrointestinal disorders. Our patients include infants, college students, and everyone in between.
From initial testing and diagnosis through long-term disease management, our specialty-trained team includes physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and dieticians who partner with families to provide patient-tailored and well-rounded care.
Aside from direct patient care, our medical practitioners also provide consultations to community physicians on basic to complex gastrointestinal and nutritional problems, including common gastrointestinal, nutritional, and hepatic problems of childhood, such as abdominal pain, chronic diarrhea, vomiting, and constipation.
As the only academic medical center on the west coast of Florida, we are able to provide cutting-edge treatment, technology, and research.
Our experts led the establishment of a pediatric multidisciplinary IBD clinic that is fully focused on offering up-to-date and state-of-the-art care to children and teens with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. As part of this region's leading academic medical center, our experts provide innovative treatments that are evidence-based, utilize cutting edge technology that are minimally invasive, and actively participate in clinical research pertaining to IBD.
The Celiac Disease program at USF Health brings together a multidisciplinary team of experts to diagnose and treat Celiac Disease. Our approach ensures that each child or adolescent we treat has an established relationship with a gastroenterologist and dietitian to develop a personalized treatment plan. Our dietitians offer comprehensive nutrition support including nutrition counseling and group classes educating on the gluten-free diet and lifestyle changes for patients and families with Celiac Disease.
Our USF Pediatric GI Dietitians lead a comprehensive class on the gluten-free diet for celiac disease.
Learn to identify gluten-free foods, avoid cross-contact, navigate dinning out while gluten-free and more!
Visit our Celiac Disease Class Gluten Free Diet page to learn more about the class and how to enroll.
Our Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Diseases Program offers expert, compassionate care to children living with eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases, such as eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). Our program is dedicated to personalized care, ensuring early, accurate diagnosis and timely, effective treatment for each patient. This approach ensures improved long-term disease management and best possible outcomes for our patients. Our comprehensive evaluation methods for EoE include sedated endoscopy, esophageal string tests and unsedated transnasal endoscopies.
Esophageal String Test (EST) is an innovative and clinically proven method to collect mucosal samples from the upper GI tract to monitor disease activity and treatment progress. It is a quicker alternative to the traditional method of testing for eosinophils through endoscopies and biopsies.
Our Advanced Endoscopy Program offers the most cutting-edge diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopic procedures for a wide range of gastrointestinal conditions. Utilizing advanced techniques such as endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), stent placements, and endoscopic resections, among others, the program provides minimally invasive solutions for complex case. Very few hospitals have physicians specifically trained in advanced endoscopy for children, and our pediatric experts are equipped to perform procedures on infants and beyond.
Sedation-Free Transnasal Endoscopy (TNE) is a safe and efficient alternative to traditional endoscopy (EGD) that does not require general anesthesia or sedation. The TNE endoscope used is narrow and flexible, allowing the doctor to examine the digestive system via the nose. Sedation-free TNE eliminates any potential complications associated with general anesthesia.
The Precision Pediatric Nutrition Program is a specialized, multidisciplinary initiative dedicated to optimizing gastrointestinal nutrition care for children with complex nutritional needs. This program integrates evidenced-based medical nutrition therapy and personalized dietary interventions to support children with enteral feeding tubes, inflammatory bowel disease, eosinophilic GI disorders, feeding difficulties, and malabsorption syndromes.
Our Gastrointestinal Manifestations of Cystic Fibrosis Program is a specialized healthcare initiative designed to address the unique gastrointestinal challenges faced by individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF). This program focuses on the early detection, management, and treatment of GI-related issues, such as malabsorption, intestinal blockages, and other digestive complications common in CF patients. With a personalized approach, the program aims to optimize nutrition, enhance digestive function, and improve the overall quality of life for those affected by CF, ensuring comprehensive care that supports both gastrointestinal and overall health.
Rene Gomez Esquivel, MD
Advanced Endoscopy Only
Racha Khalaf, MD
Jacqueline Larson, MD
Amber McClain, MD
USF Health and Tampa General Hospital are combining expertise and resources to bring you the best care available in the region.
We offer in-person consultations as well as Telehealth appointments. To book an appointment call (813) 821-8029 or visit our Telehealth page to learn how to book a virtual appointment.
Do you have an account with MyChart? Simply login to request or manage your next appointment. You can also create your own account by visiting our MyChart page.
Our affiliation with Tampa General Hospital gives our patients access to their health records from both organizations through one MyChart Account. If you currently own a MyChart account with Tampa General Hospital, you do not need a separate account at USF Health.
Referring providers please call (813) 821-8057.
Pediatric patients with a chronic inflammatory condition of the esophagus can now get a scope without going under general anesthesia.
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The Esophageal String Test is a brand-new option, and USF Health is one of only three sites in the country offering it. During the test, the patient swallows a small pill containing a flexible string. The end of the string is taped to the cheek and the string remains in place for one hour and collects esophageal secretions that are then examined for the presence of inflammation caused by eosinophils.
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Elementary and middle school students from across Tampa Bay gathered to celebrate their completion of the Pepperjack's Kids Running Program at the 2025 Publix Gasparilla Half Marathon.
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Patricia Weiler is an 8-year-old Crohn’s Disease patient. When she fell down the stairs, several doctors noticed wounds that weren’t healing in her mouth. She eventually found herself in the office of USF Health pediatric gastroenterologist, Dr. Racha Khalaf, who answered the many questions she had about her condition.
Read the full story here.
Watch & Listen here.
