General Practitioners

• Medical Weight Loss
  Typical symptoms of IBD include abdominal pain, diarrhea, blood in the stool and weight loss. Patients may also have vomiting, fever, growth issues and fatigue. Patients sometimes have extraintestinal manifestations of IBD. This can affect nearly any body system but the most common include joint pains or swelling, rashes and vision abnormalities.
• Pediatric Care
  Finally, lying flat or side-lying on a blanket on the floor is truly a fantastic place for an infant when not being held. Unless directed otherwise by your pediatrician, have your baby sleep on a flat, firm surface, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. This is the safest place, as well as best for head shape and development.
• Primary Care
  There are many causes of abdominal pain in children, most do not need surgery. However, appendicitis is the most common reason for emergency surgery in children. The appendix is an intestinal remnant that sits at the beginning of the large intestine, just past the transition from the small intestine to the large intestine. Appendicitis is an infection of the appendix, often due to a blockage from swollen immune tissue, very hard stool pellets called fecaliths, or several more rare causes. It is often manifested by diffuse abdominal pain that progresses to more focused pain in the lower right side or around the belly button over the next 1 – 3 days. Other symptoms include low-grade fever, nausea, vomiting, or loss of appetite. In the beginning, appendicitis can seem like many other conditions, such as gastroenteritis (stomach bug), food poisoning or even simple constipation. If a child’s symptoms worsen, medical evaluation is warranted, usually by the child’s primary care physician. If he or she is suspicious of appendicitis, the surgeons of Pediatric Surgical Associates (PSA) are always available for consultation. Oftentimes, appendicitis in children can be diagnosed by the story, physical exam and blood-work alone, even without further x-ray studies, such as CT scans. We work closely with our referring physicians to minimize a child’s exposure to radiation, and to expedite getting the child to the appropriate place for care. The surgeons of PSA operate at both Levine Children’s Hospital (Carolinas Health System) and Hemby Children’s Hospital (Novant Health System), and are happy to accommodate the needs of the family. The vast majority of appendices can be removed with minimally invasive surgical techniques and most children go home the next day.
• Emergency Care
  Our Story by Charlotte Steedly, RN I was a pediatric nurse navigator at Novant Health for eight years. As long as I have been aware of Pediatric Surgical Associates, I have known them all to be exceptional surgeons and remarkable people. I worked with them every day and I can confidently say I would trust any of the doctors in the practice with my own children, and I have. As a mom, I have endured many injuries with my children, from my daughter with special needs eating a glass ornament thinking it was an apple, to my son falling at school and going straight to the emergency room to receive stitches. One of these great PSA surgeons was there for us both times, and helped me work through it all… Read more.
• Colonoscopy
  Laboratory testing is often quite helpful and may show anemia (low blood counts) and elevated markers of inflammation in the blood or stool. The official diagnosis of IBD requires endoscopies (EGD, colonoscopy and capsule endoscopy). Sometimes a special type of MRI or CT scan is also needed for diagnosis.
• Constipation
• Diarrhea

Gynecologists

• Obstetrics
  When you select a physician for your child, you are not just selecting her, but her partners as well.  There will be times when you will need your child’s physician and she may be unavailable, or in the case of surgery, children may have longer hospital stays in which there may be multiple covering physicians, especially for nights, weekends or holidays.  It is important to know if these covering physicians have the same level of training and expertise, and what level of communication they have with the doctor who initially took care of you.  In some situations, physicians have to rely on coverage from doctors out of their field, or doctors for hire (locum tenems) who are only in town for a few days to help.  In pediatrics, unfortunately, it is sometimes adult physicians covering.  Selecting a physician in any field now is similar to what has long been the practice in obstetrics; where an expectant mother may have an obstetrician she sees on a regular basis, but it is the on-call physician from the group who will actually deliver her baby; choosing the right group in addition to the right physician then becomes extremely important.

Internists

• Gastroenterology
  Dr. Tiffany Linville is a board-certified pediatrician and pediatric gastroenterologist. She completed her general pediatric residency and later pediatric gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Florida. Dr. Linville is currently the director of the Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program at Atrium Health’s Levine Children’s Hospital.
• Endoscopy

Psychiatrists

• Depression
• Anxiety

Radiologist

• Ultrasound
  Each of these conditions can be identified by ultrasound before the child has been born and may require treatment after birth. When the birth defect is identified we encourage you to meet with us for a prenatal consultation. A referral is frequently offered by the obstetrician, sometimes one who specializes in high-risk pregnancies. During your prenatal consultation you will meet with one of the surgeons in our group and we will explain the surgical implications of the prenatal findings. Other aspects of the prenatal visit include anticipated surgical procedures needed, expected outcomes, and what should be expected in terms of time frame of events on the day of birth and the days and weeks after. We also know that you will have several questions and we want to make sure you can get all of those answered.
• MRI
• X-Rays
• Computed Tomography
  This is a cystic or solid appearing non-malignant tumor of the lung. Most of these do not require immediate removal. However, extremely large masses may require more immediate intervention. Smaller lesions, or those that have regressed in size, can be followed and imaged with a CT scan at 2-3 months of age to determine if surgical resection is required. In the hands of the surgeons at PSA, these lesions are frequently amenable to minimally invasive techniques which result in minimal pain, very small scars, and short hospital stays.

Surgeons

• Minimally Invasive Surgery
  Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) refers to a variety of techniques that limit the impact of surgical procedures on patients. This can mean less pain, less scarring, better cosmetic result, quicker recovery, or fewer complications due to infection or scar formation. Most commonly, MIS procedures involve the use of a camera passed through a small incision (3 or 5 mm), along with several other small incisions for the insertion of instruments. In the abdomen, this is called laparoscopy. In the chest, this is called thoracoscopy. MIS is relatively new, beginning in the early 1990s. MIS was initially limited in children, because the small spaces in the abdomens and chests of pediatric patients required specially made, smaller instruments and greater surgical skill. In recent years, however, Pediatric Surgeons have worked diligently to develop appropriate equipment and techniques for a wide variety of MIS applications in children.
• Laparoscopy

Plastic Surgeons

• Laparoscopic Surgery
  The board certified Pediatric Surgeons at Pediatric Surgical Associates, P.A. work closely with primary care providers and pediatric specialists to provide outstanding surgical consultation and treatment to children from birth to age 18. Pediatric Surgeons provide treatment in the areas of general, thoracic, and laparoscopic surgery, utilizing the most current, technologically advanced techniques available today. This includes minimally invasive surgery to promote quicker recovery time and quality outcomes.

Dermatologists

• Skin Cancer
• Lesions
  This is an abnormal mass of lung tissue. It frequently can be confused with CCAM/CPAM on prenatal diagnosis. These lesions have abnormal blood supply connections with the normal lung tissue. They need to be removed due to the risk infection; however, they typically are not removed at birth. Rather they can be removed electively using minimally invasive techniques, typically between 3 and 12 months of age.
• Rashes

Physical Therapists

• Physical Therapy
• Manual Therapy
  If you notice head-flattening or a preference to look in one direction, have your baby checked out by an occupational or physical therapist who specializes in this area. The best way to avoid a cranial band (helmet) and/or extensive therapy is to address concerns early and thoroughly. Oftentimes, one session is all that is needed to thoroughly assess the underlying issue and further educate the parent on the specifics of what their infant needs. For infants with more involved turning preference or head shape, a thorough evaluation may be followed by therapy for four to 16 weeks. A cranial band to reshape the skull is sometimes recommended. An occupational or physical therapist whose caseload includes mainly infants and also has expertise with manual therapy skill (craniosacral or myofascial release) is ideal.
• TMJ Dysfunction
  When mild, plagiocephaly will not impact later health or function. Sometimes, babies also have torticollis, which is a preference to turn in one direction. There is a higher incidence of cognitive and speech issues at the age of five in children who had plagiocephaly as an infant. Later, it can result in poorly fitting eyeglasses (if needed) and ill-fitting protective helmets for sports or occupations. When moderate or severe, plagiocephaly can lead to challenging conditions for adults that include temporomandibular joint dysfunction (pain with chewing or speaking), sleep apnea and vision problems.

Podiatrists

• Ingrown Toenails
  Medical doctors go to medical school for many years to learn this language. Throat pain becomes dysphagia; an ingrown toenail becomes onychocryptosis; and bed-wetting is elevated to nocturnal enuresis. Doctors get accustomed to using fancy words when describing even the simplest of things and sometimes forget that this is not a language known to everyone. Even if a doctor does a great job of explaining a serious illness or painful prognosis, a parent’s understandable fear — maybe even shock — means he or she needs time to process and be ready to comprehend what is being explained.

Allergists

• Allergies