Gundersen bringing pediatric gastroenterology services to Richland Center

Children in the Richland Center area who suffer from chronic constipation and other digestive issues can now receive specialty care close to home. Beginning in August, Victor Uko, MD, FAAP, a pediatric gastroenterologist at Gundersen Health System will begin seeing patients at Richland Medical Center in Richland Center.

"When a child is sick and needs specialized care, families quite often need to commute long distances with parents taking time off work in order to access care for their sick children," explains Dr. Uko. "It is my hope that by bringing the Pediatric Gastroenterology service closer to the community in and around Richland Center, we can better serve our patients and their families."

Dr. Uko has extensive experience evaluating and treating children with a variety of complex gastroenterological conditions and diseases involving the esophagus, stomach, large bowel, small bowel, gallbladder, liver and pancreas. Some of those conditions and diseases include:

• Chronic abdominal pain
• Chronic constipation
• Feeding problems and poor weight gain
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• Celiac disease
• Diseases of the liver such as chronic hepatitis and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
• Acute and chronic pancreatitis
• Inflammatory bowel diseases (Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis)

In addition, Dr. Uko can care for patients via telemedicine. This uses interactive video, audio and a secure, high-speed internet-based connection to link a patient at Richland Medical Center to Dr. Uko while he is at Gundersen in La Crosse – in real time.

Dr. Uko also performs diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopic procedures in La Crosse such as colonoscopy, dilation/injection of strictures and placement of gastrostomy tubes in the stomach. He can see children for initial and follow up care at Richland Medical Center.

Prior to joining Gundersen in 2013, Dr. Uko completed a Pediatric Residency and a Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellowship at Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio, and several teaching hospitals in the United Kingdom.

For more information talk with your child's primary care provider or call Gundersen Pediatrics Specialties at (608) 775-2599.