February 7, 2017

2817LaurenKANE175Congenital heart surgeon Dr. Lauren Kane was recently awarded the Carolyn E. Reed Traveling Fellowship from The Thoracic Surgery Foundation (TSF). Kane is the first congenital heart surgeon to receive the distinguished honor.

Established in 2013 in conjunction with Women in Thoracic Surgery, The Carolyn E. Reed Traveling Fellowship is an annual award presented to an established female thoracic or cardiac surgeon. The award provides recipients the opportunity to travel to another institution to learn a new skill or technology.

“I am truly honored to receive this award,” Kane said. “Carolyn was a wonderful, well-respected and beloved leader in the field of cardiothoracic surgery. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to pay tribute to her legacy as I collaborate with surgeons internationally who share my passion for enriching the lives of children with congenital heart disease and defects.”

Kane plans to travel to New Delhi, India to collaborate with an outstanding program there focused on advanced congenital heart disease.

“Dr. Kane is a vital member of our team and I am proud that she has been recognized with this coveted fellowship,” said Surgeon-in-Chief Dr. Charles D. Fraser Jr. “I look forward to her returning from her travels with a unique perspective of the keys to success of international programs similar to ours.”

Texas Children’s Heart Center is ranked No. 2 nationally in cardiology and heart surgery by U.S. News & World Report. The Congenital Heart Surgery Service offers a comprehensive surgical program that includes every procedure available for the treatment of pediatric heart disease and defects. The team cares for children of every age, including preterm and low-birth-weight newborns, tailoring procedures and treatments to the needs of each individual child and his or her family. During surgery, this individualized approach includes cardiopulmonary bypass and neuroprotection strategies customized to each patient’s condition and needs, helping to ensure optimal outcomes are achieved. For more information visit texaschildrens.org/heart.

For more information about the fellowship visit TSF’s website.

January 31, 2017

2117heartmarathoninside640When Jack Guyre was born, he was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot, which changes the normal flow of blood through the heart. Surgeon-in-Chief Dr. Charles Fraser Jr. repaired the defect when Jack was 9 months old. Following a relatively healthy childhood combined with monitoring by Texas Children’s cardiologists, Dr. Henri Justino placed a stent via catheter in Jack’s heart in 2014.

Jack, now 12, isn’t restricted in his activity, and he is not on any medication. He visits Texas Children’s once a year for a check-up and enjoys playing competitive soccer. With the approval of his cardiologist, Dr. Daniel Penny, Texas Children’s cardiology chief, Jack set out to accomplish a bucket list goal – completing the 2017 Aramco Houston Half Marathon.

On January 15, in a sea thousands, Jack crossed the finish line alongside his mom and dad with an impressive time of 2:44:25. Though he will likely need to undergo heart surgery again in the future, his parents and doctors couldn’t be prouder.

“Jack has overcome challenges that none of us, thankfully, have had to face,” Penny said. “And he’s come through those with great spirit and determination.”

Click here to watch Channel 11 KHOU’s story about Jack’s extraordinary accomplishment.

January 24, 2017

12517urology640Texas Children’s Urology Division and the innovative work they are doing in the operating room will be highlighted beginning Saturday, January 28, at a nine-day fan festival at Discovery Green in celebration of this year’s professional football championship game.

The festival will feature live music and performances, a 90-foot tall virtual reality trip to Mars and interactive exhibits, including one hosted by the Texas Medical Center that will offer fans an unforgettable experience and tell the story of innovation in Houston, specifically among the medical community.

Four virtual reality videos will take fans behind the scenes at TMC and showcase innovation at work. The video highlighting Texas Children’s will take viewers into the operating room as Dr. Chester Koh performs a robotic pyeloplasty on a one-year-old patient.

“This is such an exciting way to talk about the innovative work we are doing here in the Urology Division in the Department of Surgery at Texas Children’s,” Koh said. “It will allow us to reach a vast national audience about the services we offer to children and their families.”

Texas Children’s pediatric robotic surgery program ranks among the highest in annual pediatric robotic surgery volumes in the U.S. In 2013, Texas Children’s adopted a cutting-edge robot assisted surgical system designed to decrease post-operative pain, reduce hospital stay length and minimize scarring thanks to smaller incisions.

To learn more about the program click here. For more information on the festival click here.

January 17, 2017

12716Pederson175Texas Children’s hand surgeon and professor of surgery and pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine Dr. William Pederson was recently named president of the American Association for Hand Surgery (AAHS).

Pederson, a highly-regarded pediatric hand surgeon, joined Texas Children’s in January 2016, further expanding the highly-specialized, multidisciplinary care offered to children, adolescents and families who seek treatment at Texas Children’s.

Pederson’s clinical interests include the management of vascular problems in the upper extremity, nerve injury and repair including brachial plexus, Volkmann’s ischemic contracture, facial paralysis and microsurgical reconstruction of complex extremity defects.

A native Texan, he is an honors graduate of The University of Texas at Austin and received his medical degree from The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. He completed an internship and residency in surgery at The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. Pederson continued his medical education with training in plastic and reconstructive surgery at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina and was a Christine Kleinert Fellow in hand surgery in Louisville, Kentucky. Following this, he completed a one-year fellowship in microsurgery at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia.

With more than 1,300 members, the AAHS represents a diverse but cohesive mix of highly respected professionals working in all disciplines of hand surgery and hand therapy. Members include orthopedic surgeons, plastic surgeons, general surgeons, microsurgeons, hand therapists, nurses, and basic scientists from the United States, Canada, and many other countries around the world. AAHS is an inclusive organization that welcomes members from many disciplines who are interested in the care of the upper extremity.

AAHS was founded by a group of American and Canadian hand surgeons. The group received their training under Dr. Joseph L. Posch at the Grace Hospital in Detroit and shared a vision of forming an organization that would represent the interest of all surgeons practicing hand surgery. In 1970, that vision became a reality. The founding purpose of the American Association for Hand Surgery was to provide an educational forum to increase the professional expertise and knowledge of surgeons involved in hand surgery. Today, the association has expanded to include hand therapist and other health professionals who care for patients with hand and upper extremity problems.

11817CNOR640For the third year in a row, Texas Children’s Hospital has been named CNOR Strong by the Competency and Credentialing Institute (CCI).

To achieve this recognition, more than 50 percent of a hospital’s operating room (OR) nurses’ must undergo a rigorous process that involves mastering high standards of perioperative practices before nurses can earn their individual CNOR certification.

“Words cannot express how proud I am to be the leader of an OR that is CNOR strong for the third year in a row,” said Amanda Austin, manager of Surgical Services at Texas Children’s. “It has been amazing to watch the dedication and drive grow amongst the OR nurses who worked extremely hard to achieve this milestone. They are showing their passion for what they do.”

While obtaining the CNOR designation is not an easy task and requires lots of study and preparation, this nationally recognized certification exemplifies Texas Children’s commitment to being the best of the best in the delivery of safe patient care.

“It all goes back wholeheartedly to being patient advocates that set the highest bar for the care we provide to our sleeping patients,” said Nakeisha Archer, director of Perioperative Services at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women and president of the Greater Houston Chapter of the Association of PeriOperative Registered Nurses. “We are proud of being designated as a whole, and putting the Pavilion for Women on the map as the first women’s hospital to become CNOR strong internationally.”

Research shows that nurses who earn the CNOR credential have greater confidence in their clinical practice. A team of CNOR certified nurses who have mastered the standards of perioperative practice furthers a culture of professionalism and has been correlated to improved outcomes in surgical patients.

In a recent study published in the journal of the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses, hospitals with high rates of specialty nursing certifications saw significant lower rates of central-line associated bloodstream infections among surgery patients. The study also found that a 10 percent increase of CNOR’s and other support certified nurses resulted in an 8 to 16 percent reduction in surgical infections.

“I am honored to be involved with an institution and perioperative departments that have a commitment to excellence,” said Janet Winebar, director of Perioperative Services at West Tower. “I commend the individual OR RNs who have worked so hard to achieve this honor and their leaders for supporting them.”

11817POSNA640The Texas Children’s Hospital Division of Orthopedic Surgery recently hosted the second annual meeting of the Children’s Orthopedics Trauma and Infection Consortium for Evidence Based Study (CORTICES).

Organized by local hosts Dr. Scott Rosenfeld and Dr. Jaclyn Hill, the January 8-9 meeting was attended by about 20 physicians and investigators from peer hospitals across the country. Supported in part by a Texas Children’s Hospital Auxiliary Research Grant for the study of regional variations in pediatric musculoskeletal infections, the group met to discuss preliminary data that has been collected from nearly 15,000 pediatric patients around the country. Additionally, the group began plans for future research projects in the field of pediatric musculoskeletal trauma and infection.

The Texas Children’s Hospital Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine Programs focus on the study and treatment of musculoskeletal conditions in order to advance knowledge, prevent disease, improve health and ensure the highest level of individualized care for patients from newborns to young adults. With more than 30 Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeons and Advanced Practice Providers, Texas Children’s Orthopedics is recognized as a leader in research, teaching, and the clinical care of children not only across Houston, Texas but around the world.

December 20, 2016

122116chdpajamasinside250When Anne Currie was 5-years-old, she underwent her first congenital heart surgery at Texas Children’s Hospital. Following additional procedures, Currie, now in her 30s, leads a happy and healthy life and comes back to Texas Children’s for regular check-ups with the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program (ACHD) team.

Texas Children’s ACHD Program enables patients with congenital heart disease to receive seamless continuation of care from birth to adulthood. Members of the multidisciplinary team, who are trained in both pediatric and adult congenital heart disease, offer a full spectrum of services and advise patients on the wide spectrum of medical problems that patients like Currie experience throughout their lives.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of her first surgery, Currie enlisted the help of her friend and fellow adult congenital heart disease patient, Holly Hancock, to surprise heart patients at the hospital with specially-designed pajamas from Heroic Hearts®, a company Hancock created.

Hancock, who underwent her first heart surgery at just hours old, spent time at Texas Children’s when she was 9 and continues to be seen by Texas Children’s ACHD team, too. As a young patient, she dreaded putting on a drab hospital gown as the excess fabric made it hard to move around and was thin causing her to always be cold. Little Heroes® by Heroic Hearts® offers comfortable, creative, hospital-friendly apparel tailored to young heart patients.

Recently, the pair, alongside Hancock’s husband and parents and Currie’s mom, gifted 10 current Texas Children’s heart patients and their families with pairs of the pajamas. The group shared stories with families about their time in the hospital and inspired them as the families were able to see how well the women are doing today. In addition to the pajamas, patients received stuffed animals named Ruby and Beau, who star in the hospital’s one-of-a-kind animated series of videos designed to educate families about complex heart conditions. To watch the series visit texaschildrens.org/hearteducation.

“My heart is so full and grateful going into this holiday season all because of you,” Currie said of the patients she met during her visit to Texas Children’s. “I hope they all understand that Texas Children’s is for life, not just for kids.”