March 22, 2016

32316transplantinside640Friday, March 11, was a record-setting day for the renal transplant service at Texas Children’s Hospital with the team completing four kidney transplants in 18 hours.

Wednesday evening, Claudia Kim, renal transplant coordinator, received a call that two kidneys were available and were a match for two of our patients. Kim and Dr. Eileen Brewer, medical director of renal transplantation at Texas Children’s, went into action contacting families and making arrangements within the hospital to admit the patients the next day.

Early Thursday morning, Kim received a call that a third kidney was available, and at 4 p.m. she was notified that we had a fourth. Both of those organs were a match for another two of our patients. With the help of renal transplant coordinators, Kirti Bhakta and Dana Harney, those families were notified. The medical and surgical renal transplant teams then shifted into high gear preparing for Friday, the day all four kidneys were transplanted.

The organ recipients and their families began arriving at the hospital at 6 p.m. Thursday to be admitted and prepped for surgery. Brewer and Dr. Christine O’Mahony, surgical director of renal transplantation, coordinated with our inpatient floors, the dialysis team, the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU), the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), the operating rooms and pharmacy to make the transplants possible for all four patients.

Everyone involved was determined to make it happen for the patients who ranged from 4 to 28 years old. There were three female patients and one male patient. The 28-year-old had been on dialysis for 13 years waiting for a kidney.

O’Mahony and renal transplant surgeon Dr. Ron Cotton began the first transplant at 6 a.m. Friday. The second transplant started at 8 a.m., and the third and fourth began at 3:30 p.m. After surgery, all of the patients were admitted to the PICU. Two patients have since been discharged from the hospital. The remaining two patients are still here and are doing well.

It took an astounding team effort to complete the admission of four transplant patients and complete four surgeries in less than 24 hours. Renal surgeons and pediatric nephrologists, anesthesia, pharmacy, the PACU and PICU, perioperative nurses and technicians, renal transplant coordinators, the blood bank, 12 West Tower inpatient nurses and staff, the dialysis unit, social workers, child life specialists and dietitians all were involved in making this possible.

“We could never have done this without everyone’s input,” Brewer said. “I personally cannot thank the team enough.”

“Our biggest reward that day was the thanks and appreciation from the patients and their families for getting a new kidney,” Brewer added. “These patients can look forward to a great future.”

The last transplant on Friday was the 400th kidney transplant completed at Texas Children’s since the program began in 1988.

Renal Transplant Team Members and Operating Room Staff on March 11

Anesthesia
Dr. Steven Stayer
Dr. Paul Hopkins
Dr. Titilopemi Aina
Dr. Thomas Shaw

Medical Team
Dr. Eileen Brewer
Dr. Poyyapakkam Srivaths
Dr. Sarah Swartz
Dr. Rossana Malatesta
Dr. Neziha Celebi
Dr. Peace Imani
Dr. Leyat Tal

Operating Room staff on March 11
Theresa Bagley
Jana Brunet
Danielle Govea
Doreen Hodgson
Hubert Laws
Lindsay Meade
Xianghua Xu

Pharmacy
Ji Lee

Renal Transplant coordinators
Claudia Kim
Kirti Bhakta
Dana Harney

Surgical Team
Dr. Christine O’Mahony
Dr. Ron Cotton
Dr. Thao Galvan (Recovery)

32316laserablation640Texas Children’s neurology and neurosurgery teams recently surpassed 100 laser ablation procedures. This minimally invasive surgical brain procedure has significantly improved the quality of life for many children with debilitating seizure disorders.

Ranked no. 2 in neurology and neurosurgery by U.S. News & World Report, Texas Children’s is the first hospital in the world to use real-time MRI-guided thermal imaging and laser technology to destroy brain lesions that cause epilepsy and uncontrollable seizures. Unlike a craniotomy – which removes a larger area of skull bone – the MRI-guided laser probe uses a much smaller pathway through the brain to reach a lesion, resulting in a safer, significantly less invasive alternative to craniotomy.

Stereotactic laser ablation surgery is used to treat epilepsy related to hypothalamic hamartoma (laughing seizures) and other seizure-inducing conditions such as tuberous sclerosis complex, cortical dysplasia and mesial temporal sclerosis. Laser ablation also treats certain types of brain tumors and radiation-induced necrosis that sometimes accompanies the treatment of these brain tumors.

This innovative procedure pioneered by Dr. Daniel Curry, Texas Children’s director of pediatric surgical epilepsy and functional neurosurgery, and Dr. Angus Wilfong, medical director of Texas Children’s Comprehensive Epilepsy Program, has resulted in improved patient outcomes with up to 78 percent of children reaching seizure free status at their one year follow up appointment.

Drs. Curry and Wilfong say improving patient outcomes using this minimally invasive approach to treating seizure disorders would not have been possible without the collaboration from the entire team at Texas Children’s including every pediatric epilepsy specialist in the department of neurology, neurosurgeons, the neurophysiology technicians who help with intraoperative monitoring during surgery, radiologists, radiology technicians who run the MRI machine, and the anesthesiologists and nursing staff who provide incredible support in and out of the operating room.

“We are honored and gratified that this procedure we pioneered here at Texas Children’s has changed the lives of our patients and the landscape of pediatric epilepsy surgery,” Curry said. “We are encouraged by our success to date and we look forward to further advancing this new field in minimally invasive pediatric epilepsy surgery.”

Click here to learn more about this breakthrough epilepsy procedure. For more information about Texas Children’s Epilepsy Center including powerful video documentaries from Texas Children’s patients who benefited from laser ablation surgery, click here and to read their blogs here.

32216girlselevated550Growing up can be tough, especially on girls, but ample preparation can make this journey through adolescence easier for moms and daughters. “If you equip teens and preteens with the knowledge they need to navigate the changes and challenges that lie ahead, they’ll emerge stronger, healthier, more confident young women,” said Dr. Jennifer Dietrich, Texas Children’s chief of pediatric and adolescent gynecology. Hosted by experts from Texas Children’s and Baylor College of Medicine Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Girls Elevated is an empowering, interactive one-day event that educates teens about their bodies and helps them cope with peer pressure and self-esteem issues that often occur during puberty. Girls between the ages of 10 and 18, and their mothers or caregivers, are invited to attend separate, age-appropriate sessions to hear from physicians, law enforcement and other experts on topics girls want and need to know about, from physical development to personal safety to healthy relationships and more. Topics for the girls will include:

  • Puberty and menses
  • Hygiene, skin care and physical wellness
  • Social skills
  • Self-esteem
  • Personal safety

Topics for the adult caregivers will include:

  • What’s “normal”
  • HPV
  • Promoting positive self-esteem
  • Communicating with your teen
  • Stress management

This year’s keynote speaker, Stacy Mosely, will deliver an inspirational talk about how she overcame shyness and bullying at school and how she has excelled in her rewarding career as senior associate director of Athletics at Rice University. Girls Elevated will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 30, at the United Way Community Resource Center at 50 Waugh Drive, Houston, TX, 77007. This year, organizers are expecting a crowd of 250 participants. Click here to register online for Girls Elevated 2016! The deadline to register is Friday, April 22.

32316FAMILYFUNRUN640Don’t miss out on the fun at the fourth annual Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Marathon Foundation Family Fun Run. Registration for the event ends at 5 p.m. Monday, March 28, so hurry and sign up if you haven’t already.

Families with children of all abilities are invited to participate in the run at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 9 at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus.

The Family Fun Run will include both a 1K and 3K course. Participants – including those who need walkers and wheelchairs – are welcome. There will not be prizes given to top finishers as all participants will receive an award for taking part in an event designed to educate and encourage Houston-area families to adopt active, healthy lifestyles. Following the run, families can enjoy the H-E-B sponsored Family Fun Zone. The zone will be packed with snacks, special guests and more than 25 attractions.

Click here to register.

Additional information, including training guides, a video from last year’s event and volunteer opportunities can be found here.

Good luck and happy running!

32316HelenCurrier175Texas Children’s Hospital is pleased to announce Helen Currier, director of renal and pheresis services, was elected as President of the National Renal Administrators Association (NRAA).

Serving her term from October 2015 to October 2016, Currier will work with the NRAA Board of Directors to shape the future direction and vision for NRAA, especially as new models of payment and care delivery specific to Medicare beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease are tested and evaluated.

“These are exciting times as the NRAA is creating a milieu for developing and accessing the resources dialysis leaders need to grow new skills and abilities,” Currier said. “My vision is that we will champion education opportunities that will add value to the NRAA membership while effectively addressing external threats and protecting the standing of the independent, regional- and community-based dialysis providers of patient-centered, high-quality care.”

Currier was elected by her peer NRAA members as president-elect in 2014. The purpose of the NRAA is to provide renal administrators the opportunity for gaining continuing education, obtaining peer recognition and expanding development in the profession.

March 15, 2016

31616KristinaWilson175Kristina Wilson, a senior speech-language pathologist and clinical researcher on the Cleft Palate Team at Texas Children’s Hospital, was recently elected to the Executive Council of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association (ACPA), an international non-profit medical society of health care professionals who treat and/or perform research on oral cleft and craniofacial conditions.

In her role on the council, Wilson will help guide the 2,500-member organization in its efforts to foster communication and cooperation among professionals from all specialties involved in the treatment of children and adults with cleft lip, cleft palate, and craniofacial anomalies.

For more than 65 years, their goal has been to provide optimal care for this group of patients and their families. Because of the diverse needs of these patients, and the required services of many different specialists, interdisciplinary cooperation and team care is essential to the patients served.

Wilson has been providing such care for the past decade with the Cleft Palate Team at Texas Children’s Hospital. In addition to her role with the hospital, she holds a faculty appointment at Baylor College of Medicine in the Division of Plastic Surgery. She also is the assistant coordinator of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Special Interest Group 5 – Craniofacial and Velopharyngeal Disorders.

March 8, 2016

Honorary chairs

Texas Children’s Hospital is proud to announce Robert and Janice McNair as honorary chairs of Promise: The Campaign for Texas Children’s Hospital. The comprehensive $475 million fundraising effort will help ensure the future of Texas Children’s as the leading pediatric and women’s health care provider for greater Houston, the state of Texas and beyond.

“Bob and Janice McNair are highly respected leaders in the Houston community and faithful, longtime donors and friends of Texas Children’s Hospital,” said Mark A. Wallace, president and CEO of Texas Children’s Hospital. “Their support as honorary chairs of the Promise Campaign will be invaluable in helping us achieve our goal and ultimately fulfill our promise of providing specialized care to every child who comes to Texas Children’s for help.”

The Promise Campaign focuses on several initiatives including improving facilities for critical, surgical and emergency care services at the hospital’s main campus in>the Texas Medical Center, as well as the construction of Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, a 548,000-square-foot dedicated pediatric hospital, which will care for children in communities north of Houston.

“Serving as honorary chairs of the Promise Campaign is a wonderful way for us to help ensure that every child in our community has the highest quality care and the best possible chance to live a long, fulfilling life,” said Robert McNair.

The goal of the fundraising endeavor is to help ensure Texas Children’s has the infrastructure in place to meet the needs of the patients it serves five, 10 and even 20 years from now.

“Any visionary can take on a bold endeavor,” said Michael Linn, Promise Campaign chair. “Successfully completing one of this magnitude requires a team with extraordinary leaders like Bob and Janice McNair, who embrace the vision, give their all to fulfill it and inspire others to do the same.”

 

Texas Children’s is committed to providing the very best care to all children who come to the hospital for help. It is essential to give the right care, at the right time, in the right place — and to do so, it is essential that Texas Children’s continue to grow.

 

For more information about the Promise Campaign, watch this video.

 

To learn more about the Promise Campaign, visit texaschildrens.org/promise.