March 14, 2017

Texas Children’s Hospital recently launched a pediatric orthopedic surgery physician assistant fellowship program that provides advanced pediatric orthopedic subspecialty training to physician assistants. The program is the first of its kind in the country to offer a 12-month didactic and clinical pediatric-specific training program.

“Our fellowship ensures a unique opportunity to gain experience in pediatric orthopedic surgical subspecialties and to participate in leading edge work, both through didactic and clinical opportunities,” said Chief of Orthopedic Surgery Dr. John Dormans. “The fellowship also demonstrates the commitment Texas Children’s has to advancing the field of pediatric orthopedic surgery and the passion it has for surgical education and research.”

The year-long program includes 10 months of core clinical rotations through the pediatric orthopedic surgical subspecialties at Texas Children’s Hospital. Fellows also will be given two elective months to repeat rotations through a subspecialty of their choosing. All training is provided within the Texas Children’s system, both in the Medical Center and surrounding locations, by department supervising physicians.

Megan Lomax, from Arkansas, and Darius Dranginis, from San Antonio by way of Lithuania, are the programs first fellows. With just two months of the program under their belts, both said they already have learned so much.

“I’ve already learned more than I expected,” Dranginis said. “I am surrounded by top professionals in their field who are always willing to help and that makes a big difference.”

Lomax said the fellowship has been the opportunity of a lifetime and is giving her a chance to give back to patients the way medical staff gave to her when she came to Texas Children’s in college to receive surgery for an eye condition called strabismus.

“I feel like I have come full circle in my experiences as a patient and now fellow provider at Texas Children’s,” she said. “I love being surrounded by healthcare providers who share the same passion for kids as I do, and I look forward to learning all that I can about orthopedics during this fellowship year.”

The launch of the pediatric orthopedic surgery physician assistant fellowship follows the start of the Texas Children’s Hospital surgical physicians assistant fellowship program in 2015. The program touted by the Association of Postgraduate Physician Assistant Programs as an “innovative fellowship program” graduated four fellows during its first year and six fellows in 2016. Another six fellows began the program in January.

“The program is drawing people from across the world, which speaks to the visibility and the quality of the program as a whole,” said Fellowship Program Medical Director and Chief of Plastic Surgery Dr. Larry Hollier. “Having an opportunity in a subspecialty such as orthopedics will just add to that allure and will most likely open doors to programs in other subspecialties.”

March 10, 2017

Several families recently attended Texas Children’s Hospital’s annual Craniosynostosis Reunion, which honors those whose children have undergone craniosynostosis surgery at the hospital.

Donned in superhero T-shirts and capes, patients and their families enjoyed a day filled with games, socializing and laughter as they celebrated healed scars, which were barely visible in the patients’ hair. Families shared stories and remembered the hope and strength they received when their child had surgery.

At Texas Children’s, the comprehensive Craniosynostosis Surgery Program brings together a multidisciplinary team of pediatric neurosurgeons and plastic surgeons as well as geneticists, ophthalmologists, social workers, otolaryngologists and anesthesiologists to meet the needs of each patient.

Led by Drs. Sandi Lam and Laura Monson, pediatric plastic surgeons and program co-directors, Texas Children’s Craniosynostosis Surgery Program is among the largest in the country, offering a spectrum of treatment strategies including minimally invasive surgery and complex reconstructions. For more information about the program, visit the website.

February 28, 2017

Dr. Laura Monson, co-director of the Craniofacial/Craniosynostosis Clinic, was recently appointed Chief Surgical Quality and Safety Officer for Texas Children’s Hospital.

Monson was selected for the position after a thorough nationwide search and will succeed neurosurgeon Dr. Tom Luerssen, who has been the voice of surgery within Quality Operations Management at Texas Children’s driving surgical quality efforts at the hospital and throughout the system.

Among the many quality projects Luerssen was instrumental in establishing during his tenure are the OR-specific Surgical Checklist and the Surgical Quality Committee. Luerssen also was essential to the success of the hospital’s American College of Surgeons Level 1 Children’s Surgery Center Verification.

Surgeon-in-Chief Dr. Charles D. Fraser and Senior Vice President/Chief Quality Officer Dr. Angelo Giardino said Monson distinguished herself in the selection process as having just the right vision and passion to lead the Texas Children’s surgical quality program into the future.

“Dr. Monson has demonstrated a remarkable commitment to improving the quality of care and quality of life for her patients as evidenced by her many cleft lip and palate and craniofacial research programs,” Fraser and Giardino said. “She is continually educating herself on quality improvement and has been an internal champion for it within the Department of Surgery.”

Monson will begin her new role on Wednesday, March 1. Click here for more information about Monson and her clinic experience and interests.

February 21, 2017

Anesthesiologist-in-Chief Dr. Dean B. Andropoulos recently authored an article in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) about the December 14 U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) drug safety communication about prolonged or repeated anesthetics in young children and pregnant women in their third trimester.

The FDA’s communication states:

  • A single, short exposure to anesthesia appears to be safe.
  • There is some evidence that longer (>3 hours) or repeated exposures could have negative effects on behavior or learning.
  • Much more research is needed.

As a result of the communication and after deliberating with leaders in his department as well as the Department of Surgery and risk management, Andropoulos said in the NEJM article that Texas Children’s Hospital has changed its anesthesia practice and will discuss the warning before surgery with the parents of all children 3 years of age and younger.

In addition, Andropoulos said in the article, Texas Children’s Hospital has adopted the warning’s recommendation that a discussion occur among parents, surgeons, other physicians and anesthesiologists about the duration of anesthesia, any plan for multiple general anesthetics for multiple procedures, and the possibility that the procedure could be delayed until after 3 years of age. Parent-education materials that cover these topics also will be made available to our patients and their families.

“Even though anesthesia is much safer today than ever before, every anesthesia exposure and surgery has an element of risk and we must remain vigilant about communicating such risks to our patients and their families,” Andropoulos said. “In addition, the benefits of anesthesia must always be weighed against the risks of anesthesia itself.”

For more information, please contact the Texas Children’s Hospital Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at ext. 4-5800. To read a blog by Andropoulos titled “Anesthesia and Your Child,” click here.

February 7, 2017

2817transplant640Transplant Services at Texas Children’s Hospital continues to prove that we are at the forefront of pediatric transplantation in the United States performing 86 transplants in 2016.

Some of last year’s highlights include:

  • The heart transplant program finished the year as the No. 1 pediatric heart transplant program in the country with 25 transplants.
  • The lung transplant program tied with St. Louis Children’s Hospital’s for the No. 1 pediatric lung transplant program in the country spot with 8 transplants.
  • The kidney transplant program ended the year as the No. 2 pediatric kidney transplant program in the country, experiencing its highest volume since the program’s inception in 1988 with 32 transplants.
  • The liver transplant program performed 21 transplants and the liver and lung programs teamed up to complete a liver/lung transplant.

Dr. John Goss, medical director of Transplant Services, said Texas Children’s Transplant Services continues to earn its reputation as one of the best pediatric transplant programs in the country.

“I believe our success is a testimony to the skill and commitment of our multidisciplinary team, which offers an interdisciplinary approach to all aspects of the transplant process, from initial referral to hospitalization and outpatient management,” Goss said. “We also work closely with patients, families and referring physicians to help make the evaluation process as convenient and efficient as possible.”

Goss added that the success of Texas Children’s transplant program would not be possible without the gifts from our selfless donors and their families.

“They are the ones responsible for providing our patients with a second chance at life,” he said. “We are forever grateful for their unwavering kindness.”

To learn more about Texas Children’s Transplant Services, click here.

2817Vasudevan175Pediatric surgeon Dr. Sanjeev Vasudevan recently received a grant from the Macy Easom Cancer Research Foundation to forward his research on pediatric hepatocellular malignancy, an aggressive liver cancer.

The grant is for more than $130,000 and will provide funding for Vasudevan’s second year of research on his project titled: “Real-time vascular and tumor visualization as an adjunct to liver surgery for pediatric hepatocellular malignancy.”

Vasudevan’s research uses new imaging techniques to investigate intra-operative, real-time visualization of a tumor and blood vessels. This research is a collaborative project with the departments of Radiology and Surgery. Ketankumar Ghaghada with Radiology is the co-principal investigator on this research project. The project team is made up of multi-disciplinary specialists from both departments.

In other news, Vasudevan was named vice chair of the surgery subcommittee of the Pediatric Hepatic International Tumor Trial. The Pediatric Hepatic International Tumor Trial is an international prospective clinical trial on pediatric liver tumors through the Children’s Oncology Group.

For more information about Vasudevan, his expertise and clinical and research interests, click here. For more information about Ghaghada, click here.

2817SohailShah175Pediatric surgeon Dr. Sohail Shah was recently awarded the Texas Children’s Hospital Auxiliary Denton A. Cooley Fellowship in Surgical Innovation award for 2016-2017. The award is for $75,000 and is given to a physician whose surgical research focuses on innovative ways to help children and to save lives.

Shah will use his reward to create, implement and evaluate an innovative health care delivery model that engages patients and families in the choice of how they receive postoperative care (in-person, telephone, tele-health, or as needed).

To learn more about Shah and his research and clinic areas of expertise and interest, click here.