February 4, 2019

When Blessing Quartey was born, she was only 24 weeks old and weighed just 1.8 pounds.

To help boost her growth, Blessing’s mother, Eva Nehikare, agreed to enter her daughter into an ongoing study at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women focused on the benefits of an exclusive human milk-based diet in extremely low-birth-weight babies. Five months later, Eva is thankful she did.

“Shortly after she got into the study, you could see her becoming more muscular and full,” Eva said. “When you look at her now, you would never know she is a preemie.”

Today, Blessing weighs 8 pounds. She is steadily gaining weight and growing, and was discharged from the hospital just before the holidays.

Dr. Amy Hair, neonatologist and director of the neonatal nutrition program at Texas Children’s Hospital, is leading the study Blessing is in and said the infant’s outcome isn’t uncommon.

“We’ve known for a while that a human milk-based diet is best for low-birth-weight babies,” Hair said, noting that Texas Children’s was the first pediatric hospital to adopt an exclusive human milk-based diet in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in 2009. “Now, we have a study and outcomes to back us up.”

Hair recently published some of the study’s outcomes in the BMJ, one of the world’s oldest and most highly revered peer-reviewed medical journals.

Specifically, the study looked at the benefits of an exclusive human milk-based diet in 51 premature infants. It compared post-discharge growth, obesity and metabolic outcomes of appropriate for gestational age (AGA) premature infants versus small for gestational age (SGA) premature infants who were fed an exclusive human milk-based diet in the NICU.

The first to look at long-term post-discharge growth of this population, the study found that at 2-years-old SGA premature infants who received an exclusive human milk-based diet showed greater catch-up growth without increased obesity or elevated insulin resistance compared with AGA premature infants. These findings suggest an exclusive human milk-based diet in the NICU could lead to favorable metabolic outcomes in SGA children.

“Historically, we have overfed premature babies with either formula or cow-based fortifier, which has led to a higher risk of heart disease and metabolic problems as young adults,” Hair said. “This study proves that feeding with human milk and human milk fortifier, low-birth-weight babies grow in a healthier manner. The study also challenges the current belief that SGA babies will never catch up to their counterparts. We are seeing that they are.”

Hair said the next paper to come out about the study will focus on participants’ neurodevelopment. She added that she and her partners have seen positive results and that the families involved are extremely pleased and more than willing to participate and come in for follow-up visits.

“I am so thankful for all of the care my daughter and I received at the Pavilion for Women,” Eva said. “The opportunity for us to be a part of this was an honor.”

On February 1, Texas Children’s officially welcomed Dr. Brian Smith as the new chief of the Division of Orthopedic Surgery.

“I am delighted that Dr. Smith has joined the Texas Children’s family,” said Surgeon-in-Chief Dr. Larry Hollier. “We believe he will provide seasoned leadership and mentorship for our Orthopedic Surgery faculty and staff.”

As chief of the Division of Orthopedic Surgery, Smith now helms one of the premier pediatric orthopedic surgery programs in the nation, with extensive expertise in the treatment of a variety of conditions, from minor fractures and sports-related injuries, to complex trauma and congenital and developmental disorders.

“I am honored and humbled to join the faculty at one of the very best children’s hospitals and pediatric orthopedic surgery programs in the country,” said Smith. “This division is poised to rise to an even higher level, and I couldn’t be more excited to help it get there.”

Smith joins Texas Children’s from Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital, where he served as Director of Pediatric Orthopedics for the past 11 years and also as Interim Surgeon-in-Chief from 2011 to 2012. Additionally, he served as Yale School of Medicine’s Orthopedic Surgery Residency Director from 2012 to 2018, with 25 residents and rotations at five area institutions.

Smith earned his medical degree and completed his orthopedic residency at Georgetown University School of Medicine before serving four years in the U.S. Air Force as an orthopedic surgeon, where he held the rank of major. He then completed a fellowship in pediatric orthopedic surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Clinically, Smith’s primary interests are spinal deformities and spine surgery. Research interests include spinal deformity in children, maturity indicators in children to assess risk of scoliosis progression, and neuromuscular disorders and fractures.

An active member of the orthopedic professional community, Smith has served on the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Orthopaedics and the orthopedic section of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He has also been health council chair for the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America and chairman of the ethics committee for the Scoliosis Research Society.

In addition to his clinical and research expertise, Smith brings a bright vision of the future for the Division of Orthopedic Surgery.

“My goal is to help us achieve even greater recognition as one of the preeminent destinations nationally and internationally for pediatric orthopedic care,” Smith said. “The opportunity to help this team reach new heights in terms of improving patient care and outcomes, facilitating research, and educating the next generation of pediatric orthopedists is incredible, and I’m looking forward to meeting the challenge.”

Learn more about the Division of Orthopedics and the services we offer.

Susan Kirk, a physician’s assistant with Texas Children’s Hematology Center, has been nationally recognized for earning a specialty credential called a Certificate of Added Qualifications (CAQ) from the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).

Kirk was recognized for earning a CAQ in Pediatrics, a distinction earned by meeting licensure, education and experience requirements and then passing a national exam in the specialty. She is one 13 certified PAs in Texas to earn a CAQ in Pediatrics since the program’s inception in 2014.

As a 7-year veteran of the hospital, Kirk said she pursued a CAQ in pediatrics to demonstrate her dedication to the field and validate her subspecialty skills.

“Certified PAs who earn the CAQ demonstrate a strong commitment to lifelong learning and attention to evolving medical advancements in their area of practice,” says Dawn Morton-Rias, president and CEO of NCCPA. “Not only have they maintained certification through continuing medical education programs and assessments throughout their careers, they have pursued and been awarded this additional credential that attests to their knowledge and skills in their specialty.”

CAQs are offered to certified PAs in seven specialties: cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, emergency medicine, hospital medicine, orthopaedic surgery, nephrology, pediatrics and psychiatry.

The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) is the only certifying organization for PAs in the United States. The PA-C credential is awarded by NCCPA to PAs who fulfill certification, certification maintenance and recertification requirements. There are more than 131,000 certified PAs in the U.S. today. For more information, visit www.PAsDoThat.net.