Washington, Aug 3 - Physicians are turning to pacemakers, devices typically used in heart problems, to help ease severe gastric disorders in children.

In June, surgeons implanted a pacemaker in a 16-year-old patient with gastroparesis, a debilitating stomach condition that affects the way the body processes food.

This is the first time the procedure has been performed in a child at Nationwide Children's Hospital-Columbus (NCH-C), which is now one of the few institutions in the US offering this type of treatment.

Gastroparesis is a condition where the stomach contracts less often and less powerfully, causing food and liquids to stay in the stomach for a long time.

In as many as 60 percent of children with gastroparesis, the cause is not known.