The assessment of bone health in children requires an intimate understanding of normal bone physiology and how it can be altered by disease. Because children (and their bones) are growing, diseases affect them very differently than adults with the same condition. The Kids’ Center for Bone Health combines the expertise of its director, Dr. Francisco Sylvester, a pediatric gastroenterologist and expert in bone cell biology, and Dr. Sevket Yigit, a pediatric endocrinologist whose main clinical interest is bone health.

Children with suspected bone health problems can be referred to our center for evaluation by Dr. Yigit. Children can also be referred for bone density testing (DXA) with our state-of-the-art bone scan instrument. The scanner can also measure body composition in the same session, which can be helpful in children with special nutritional needs. This test is painless, short, and involves a minimal dose of radiation, comparable to what we normally receive from the environment in one day.

We treat children for:

• Effects of chronic illness on bone health


• Effects of medical therapies on skeletal health


• History of multiple fractures


• Malnutrition


• Primary bone diseases