Patient Stories
Experience matters: For Curtis’s family, choosing a thyroid surgeon was simple
For many parents, being told their child needs a total thyroidectomy — surgical removal of the entire thyroid gland — comes as a frightening shock. But for Curtis Lynch’s family, the procedure is already quite familiar. Several members have also undergone thyroidectomy in hopes of mitigating their genetic risk for thyroid cancer. Curtis’s family has a ... Read More about Experience matters: For Curtis’s family, choosing a thyroid surgeon was simple
Patient Stories
Leaning into Sydney: A team approach to renovascular hypertension
In most ways, Sydney Murphy is a typical 3-year-old girl: She watches the movie The Princess and the Frog on repeat, names most of her dolls after the main character, Tiana, and loves the color pink. But she’s also wise beyond her years. “She knows how to use a blood pressure cuff and is really ... Read More about Leaning into Sydney: A team approach to renovascular hypertension
Research
Diving into the dark side of ependymoma
Mariella Filbin, MD, PhD, a neuro-oncologist at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, is driven by a desire to find new therapies for some of the hardest-to-treat pediatric brain tumors. At the core of her work is an effort to uncover the events that shape tumor development. Key takeaways:· Aggressive ependymoma tumors are stuck ... Read More about Diving into the dark side of ependymoma
Our Community
Provider Spotlight: Meet Dr. Grant Hogue
Dr. Grant Hogue completed his fellowship in orthopedic surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital in 2015. He spent the next five years at the University of Texas in San Antonio as division chief of pediatric orthopedics. Soon after he relocated to Massachusetts to join the Boston Children’s Hospital Spine Division, Governor Charlie Baker issued a stay-at-home ... Read More about Provider Spotlight: Meet Dr. Grant Hogue
Patient Stories
Answers for Aubree: Finding support for OEIS
Michelle and Stephen Strickland are used to having questions about their infant daughter, Aubree’s, health. After all, Aubree was born last year with a rare and complex condition called cloacal exstrophy, or OEIS syndrome, in which many of the internal abdominal structures and organs are exposed outside the body. OEIS can include an omphalocele, rectal ... Read More about Answers for Aubree: Finding support for OEIS
Clinical Care
Monitoring for breast cancer after childhood chest radiation: When and how?
Chest radiation is used to treat children with Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma as well as lung metastases in various solid tumors. But radiation itself is a potential cancer risk. That includes an increased risk for breast cancer later in life. Girls receiving chest radiation for childhood cancer face a breast cancer risk as high as ... Read More about Monitoring for breast cancer after childhood chest radiation: When and how?
Research
Internet searches provide real-time estimate of Lyme disease risk
Lyme disease season is well underway. How much of a risk do we face for this tick-borne illness? A new method dubbed Lymelight, developed by researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital and Google, can accurately estimate Lyme disease risk in real time, down to the county level. Historically, estimates of Lyme disease have been based on ... Read More about Internet searches provide real-time estimate of Lyme disease risk
Clinical Care
Addressing racial and ethnic health disparities within primary care
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased awareness of existing racial and ethnic health disparities and inequities. The team at the Boston Children’s Hospital Primary Care Center serves a large population of Black and Latino children and recognizes that adults in these groups are at much higher risk of contracting — and dying from — ... Read More about Addressing racial and ethnic health disparities within primary care
Patient Stories
‘Anything is possible’: The sky’s the limit for teen with cerebral palsy
Jack Goldberg is on a mission. “I want other kids to see that if you work hard and put your mind to something, anything can be possible,” he says. “The sky’s the limit.” He should know. At 13, he competed in the National Finals to become one of Canada’s top-ranked pony jumpers in his division. ... Read More about ‘Anything is possible’: The sky’s the limit for teen with cerebral palsy
Research
More details on MIS-C, the post-COVID multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children
Boston Children’s Hospital and collaborators launched the national Overcoming COVID-19 study in April to track children, teens, and young adults hospitalized with COVID-19 across the U.S. In yesterday’s New England Journal of Medicine, investigators provides a fuller picture of the still-mysterious, life-threatening multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). Key takeaways· The largest case series of ... Read More about More details on MIS-C, the post-COVID multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children