Texas Children’s Hospital, St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine have opened the first center in the southwestern United States to offer comprehensive diagnosis and surgery for fetal disorders. The Texas Center for Fetal Surgery™ is one of only four in the nation and a handful in the world.
An estimated 150,000 babies are born with birth defects each year. While most of these defects are best managed after delivery, an increasing number of conditions can be corrected before birth to prevent devastating consequences.
"Fetal surgery uses special surgical techniques on babies that are still in the womb to fix different types of structural problems,” said Dr. Darrell Cass, co-director of the Texas Center for Fetal Surgery, fetal surgeon at Texas Children’s and assistant professor of surgery at Baylor College of Medicine.
Among the fetal disorders treated at the center are congenital lung masses, such as cystic adenomatoid malformation; congenital diaphragmatic hernia; congenital lung lesions; congenital high airway obstruction (CHAOS); and sacrococcygeal teratoma.
Patients treated in the Texas Center for Fetal Surgery benefit from a centralized point of care in which specialists can provide highly skilled, integrated care for both mother and child.
According to Dr. Oluyinka Olutoye, center co-director, fetal surgeon at Texas Children’s and assistant professor of surgery at Baylor, early fetal diagnosis and surgery “give hope to babies who might otherwise suffer serious complications from certain birth defects.”
Learn more about the Texas Center for Fetal Surgery.
The Technical Advisory Group on Integrated Management of Childhood Illness of the Pan American Health Organization held a two-day meeting in May at Texas Children's Hospital. International experts from Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, as well as from Spain and the United States, attended the meeting.
The committee collaborated with physicians at Texas Children’s Hospital to develop health initiatives aimed at reducing infant mortality in the Americas.
Learn more about the international meeting.
Children and teens suffering from the painful symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a serious, chronic condition causing inflammation of the intestines, now have a place to turn for treatment.
Texas Children’s Hospital has launched the first comprehensive center in the southwestern United States for the diagnosis and treatment of IBD in children and teens.
Manifested most commonly as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, IBD is a group of chronic disorders that create inflammation in the small and large intestines.
Since early diagnosis is crucial, children should see a pediatric specialist when symptoms are first noticed. Tests used to diagnose the disease include blood and antibody tests, endoscopic procedures and/or radiology tests. Patients also may benefit from the center’s clinical trials of the most innovative therapies available.
Read more about the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center on Texas Children's Web site.
For two consecutive years, the pediatric-research collaboration between Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston has taken the No. 1 spot in grant funding from the National Institutes of Health.
The NIH, a division of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, has granted Baylor College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics faculty members working at Texas Children’s more than $31 million for fiscal year 2003. More than 79 pediatric awards were received. Although the awards are in Baylor’s name, the two affiliated organizations collaborate in seeking cures to childhood diseases.
The NIH is one of the world’s foremost medical research centers and is the federal focal point for medical research in the United States. NIH funding has advanced research in the study of heart disease, stroke, cancer, spinal cord injury, respiratory distress syndrome, infectious diseases and gene therapy. NIH support has included more than 100 scientists who have won the Nobel Prize for achievements as varied as deciphering the genetic code and unlocking the causes of hepatitis.
Nov. 4-5, Chronic Illness: Transitioning from Pediatric-Based to Adult-Based Care
For more information, visit www.bcm.tmc.edu/cme.
Nov. 12-13, International Pediatric Nursing Symposium
Presenting the latest advances in nursing care of infants, children and adults with congenital heart disease, the symposium will be held at the Renaissance Houston Hotel. For more information, visit www.texaschildrenshospital.org/heartsymposium or e-mail gnmatthe@texaschildrenshospital.org.
Nov. 20, Pediatric Endocrinology: The Primary Care Perspective
For more information, visit www.bcm.tmc.edu/cme.
Dec. 3-4, 8th Annual Pediatric Emergency Medicine Conference
For more information, visit www.bcm.tmc.edu/cme.Bookmark our professional education page to get regular updates to the Texas Children's professional education calendar.
