Archive for surgery
Predicting feeding difficulties in children with esophageal atresia: A proactive approach
Children with esophageal atresia are at risk for developing anastomotic strictures, or areas of esophageal narrowing, following surgical repair. Clinicians have long assumed that such strictures can cause dysphagia and feeding difficulties, but it isn’t clear whether the severity of feeding difficulties is related to the severity of a stricture. Now, findings of a recent ... Read More
From PediaSure to pizza: Benjamin’s journey with esophageal stricture
This fall, Benjamin Hawkins and his family visited a local orchard to go apple picking. It’s a beloved tradition for many people, but this visit was extra special for Benjamin: For the first time in his life, he could take a big bite out of the apple he’d just plucked from a tree. In fact, ... Read More
Bladder surgery after Ewing sarcoma helps Paralympian get back on the slopes
Thomas Walsh’s email signature includes the phrase, “No struggle, no progress.” It’s a motto that Thomas, 27, has lived by since he was a teenager. An avid skier who has been competing since he was just 5 years old, he faced a different kind of opponent when he was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma at age ... Read More
The secret to safer heart surgery lies in modernizing an old technique
Of the many features in the recently-opened Hale Family Building at Boston Children’s, maybe one of the most impactful for patients and clinicians is an innovation that puts a new spin on an old way of conducting perfusion in open-heart surgery. Used in cardiac operating rooms (ORs) until only a few decades ago, wall water systems had ... Read More
Maternal-fetal care helps ‘All Smiles Myles’ beat a CPAM
Myles Gifford is “fearless and defiant,” says his mother, Katy. “We’ll be in big trouble when he’s a teenager,” she laughs. “But it’s benefited him so far.” In fact, Myles, now more than 18 months old, needed to draw on his perseverant personality almost as soon as he was born. Katy, her husband, Mike, and ... Read More
Innovative flatfoot surgery releases Quinn’s inner athlete
By the time he was 10, Quinn’s parents had tried almost everything. Dawn would sometimes massage his feet to relieve the pain and tightness caused by flexible flatfoot, a condition in which a child has very little or no arch in their feet. Joseph did physical therapy exercises with him at night. But despite their ... Read More
There’s no stopping Jack: His journey with craniosynostosis
Jack is almost 2 years old and loves to swim, chase his older sister around the house, and just bring lots of laughs to everyone he meets. For such a happy kid, he’s had an uphill battle to get to this point — starting when he was born. “Something wasn’t right with the shape of ... Read More
From Toronto to Boston: Osteochondritis dissecans, hockey, and hope
Hockey is a fast and physical sport. Players need to think and act quickly as their team members, opponents, and the puck zip around the ice. Wherever the puck goes, high-speed collisions often follow. Osteochondritis dissecans is a joint disorder in which a segment of bone and cartilage starts to separate from the rest of ... Read More
‘I did it!’ Micah is thriving after maternal-fetal care for a CPAM
Dr. Marla Lipsyc-Sharf is no stranger to the field of medicine: As a medical oncology fellow, she’s familiar with the human body and the health challenges that can arise. But it still came as a shock when — 20 weeks into a healthy pregnancy — she and her husband, Jeremiah, learned during an ultrasound that ... Read More
‘Our silver lining’: Mila is thriving after CDH repair
For Katie, last St. Patrick’s Day wasn’t an occasion for revelry. Instead, it was the day an ultrasound revealed that their daughter, Mila, would be born with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). In this condition, the diaphragm — the layer of muscle and tissue between the chest and abdominal cavity — forms with a hole ... Read More