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Jenna’s comeback from PAO surgery

Posted on by | Patient Stories
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By the time Jenna was 14, her off-and-on hip pain had become an always-on issue. The accomplished soccer player and runner from Southern California had experienced intermittent pain since she was 12. She tried physical therapy to ease the hip pain, but it only got worse as she competed at higher levels. Over time, her ... Read More
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Healthy behaviors may counteract the long-term effects of concussions

Posted on by | Clinical, Research
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When it comes to football, concussion, and long-term health, many people have already made up their minds: They believe that repeat concussions condemn athletes to a future of mental illness and cognitive decline. Such beliefs instill fear and helplessness in many professional athletes and their families. “There’s a thought that former NFL players are all ... Read More
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All together: Siblings both overcome retinoblastoma

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In some ways, PJ and Jovi Fisher couldn’t be more different. PJ, 9, is quiet, laidback, and loves playing Minecraft and other video games. Younger sister Jovi, 8, is outgoing and obsessed with all things Harry Potter. But there are similarities, too: Both are tall, both enjoy playing soccer — and both were diagnosed with ... Read More
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Babies and screen time: New research calls for caution

Posted on by | Health and Parenting, Research
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If you’re a parent, you’ve probably been there. You have a baby howling for attention, but you need to cook dinner or get a sibling to take a much-needed nap. Baby TV shows, touch tablets, and digital phone toys can feel like lifesavers in keeping an active infant calm and contained while juggling what life ... Read More
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Personalized care for optic nerve gliomas helps Addison feel like ‘the star of the show’

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Addison Gould loves visiting with her friend Tom. Every time her family makes the drive to Boston from their home on Cape Cod, the 5-year-old can’t wait to see him. “She runs across the bridge from the parking garage to clinic,” laughs her mother, Jillian. “I’ve never seen a kid so excited to go to ... Read More
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After vascular ring surgery, playing and eating are a breeze for Louis

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You can’t blame 10-year-old Louis McFaye for eating three hot dogs really fast. Until last summer, he struggled to eat even a single hot dog cut into tiny pieces. That’s because he had a vascular ring, an abnormal formation of the aorta — the body’s largest blood vessel — that compressed his esophagus and trachea. Throughout ... Read More
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New research discovery could shorten ICU stays for children with diabetic ketoacidosis

Posted on by | Clinical, Research
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When a child with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) requires intensive care, clinicians often monitor blood ketone levels to determine whether treatment has successfully reversed the abnormal ketone production. Yet, the utility of blood ketone levels to diagnose DKA or determine whether a child’s DKA has resolved have not been rigorously studied. But now, research by Elise Tremblay, ... Read More
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Teens aren’t small adults: Rethinking surgical treatment of adolescent clavicle fracture

Posted on by | Clinical, Research
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Until about 15 years ago, most clavicle fractures were allowed to heal with minimal medical intervention. That changed after a 2007 study reported better shoulder function after plate-fixation surgery. Although the study participants were adults, the rate of surgical treatment subsequently increased across all age groups. Now, a landmark study at Boston Children’s Hospital demonstrates ... Read More
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Does thyroid cancer in children behave differently than in adults?

Posted on by | Research
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Once relatively uncommon, pediatric thyroid cancer is increasing among children and is now the most common type of cancer diagnosed in adolescents. As the oldest program of its kind in the U.S. — and one of the only centers dedicated to pediatric thyroid disease — Boston Children’s Thyroid Center is at the forefront of research on ... Read More
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Nerve block and a way out of pain after surgery

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If she hadn’t dislocated her knee severely when she was 13, Paige Thornton probably wouldn’t have such strong feelings about pain. But most teenagers haven’t gone through an experience like hers: two surgeries at a hospital outside of Boston followed by weeks of agonizing pain and a year and half struggling to walk. Blocks use ... Read More
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