Pulmonary Medicine

For Health Professionals

Interviews and Publications

• Dr. Michelle Mann
  Interviewed for COVID Infection Not Linked to New Asthma Diagnosis in Kids in MedPage Today, April 12, 2024.
• Dr. Nidhy Varghese
  An Interdisciplinary Consensus Approach to Pulmonary Hypertension in Developmental Lung Disorders. European Respiratory Journal, 2024 Sep 26.

Conferences

• National Sleep Meeting - Our sleep medicine providers gave 7 oral presentations and 12 poster presentations during the conference, garnering significant interest in our unique pediatric sleep facility
• Pulmonary Hypertension Association Meeting - Physicians, nurses and advanced practice providers from Texas Children’s were invited presenters, moderators and panelists
• Pulmonary Vascular Research Institute Meeting - Dr. Ryan Coleman presented on RV failure for the pediatric task force. Dr. Nidhy Varghese gave a pediatric update podium presentation at the scientific session
• International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation/Pediatric Heart Transplant Society Academy Core Competencies in Pediatrics - Dr. Ernestina Melicoff-Portillo was a presenting faculty member

Program Highlights

• Bronchoscopy - By expanding our bronchoscopy program, we have been better able to serve the needs of children with complex aerodigestive problems through advanced biopsy techniques and starting an airway foreign body removal program. Special focus on chest tubes and resolving persistent air leak has enabled us to remove chest tubes earlier and allow children to return home with their families sooner
• Pulmonary Hypertension - Texas Children’s world-renowned Pulmonary Hypertension Center improves patient symptoms and quality of life – even in the most critical cases. Our providers were invited to give grand rounds and talks in the United States and abroad in Mexico. We also completed our site review in October.
• Cystic Fibrosis Care Center - The Cystic Fibrosis Care Center is dedicated to community partnerships and outreach for the benefit of patients everywhere. In 2024, we received the Cystic Fibrosis Center Award for Outstanding Partnership -– one of only 11 recognized American centers — reflecting our joint work to improve care for children with cystic fibrosis.

Patient Stories

• Ryder - When Ryder was only 16 months old, a series of infections damaged his lungs so severely that they were unable to recover. Over the subsequent 8 years, his lungs declined to the point that he was dependent on oxygen and unable to laugh without struggling to breathe or walk through a grocery store parking lot. At this point, he was placed on the lung transplant list. After 169 days, 10-year-old Ryder’s family received the news that a pair of lungs were available. Texas Children’s Hospital performed the double lung transplant, after which his mother was able to hear his boyish laugh, unencumbered by an unmet oxygen demand, for the very first time.
• Kylie - Immediately after her birth, Kylie was placed on a ventilator, and diagnosed with surfactant B deficiency. At the time, there was significant doubt that she would live even with breathing support, but Kylie survived with the help of her Virginia medical team for three months until she was strong enough to be transferred to Texas Children’s Hospital in hopes of and preparation for the only cure available to her - a double lung transplant. In April of 2024, Kylie’s team of over a dozen surgeons and nurses brought her to the operating room for the 11 hour surgery that replaced her diseased lungs and fixed a hole in her heart, allowing her to breathe on her own. After further testing and treatments in the hospital, Kylie was able to return home to her family.

Looking to the future: 2025 and beyond

• Texas Children’s announces new CEO Debra Sukin
• Texas Children’s North Austin opened February 2024
• Texas Children’s celebrates 16 years as No. 1 hospital in Texas

A note from Amee Revana, MD, Fellowship Director