Precision

Experts in cardiac care at Lurie Children’s Hospital want to ensure that children with congestive heart (CDH) disease live the healthiest, happiest lives possible. Lurie Children’s unique, comprehensive approach is dedicated to investing in the long-term outcomes of children with CHD. In this episode, Dr. Kiona Allen, attending physician in cardiology and Medical Director of the Regenstein Cardiac Care Unit, discusses key components of a supportive, long-term approach for children with this condition. This includes neurodevelopmental and mental health support, exercise, teaching children to take ownership of their health and helping bridge the gap for those with socioeconomic obstacles.

Anti-seizure medications are the mainstay of epilepsy treatment, but these medications are not effective for all forms of epilepsy, such as Lennox-Gastaut syndrome or LGS. It's a rare form of epilepsy that has no cure. Dr. Sandi Lam, Division Head, Neurosurgery at Lurie Children’s, is working to help pediatric patients with LGS and their families manage this condition by investigating the outcomes that matter most to patients and their families. In this episode, Dr. Lam talks about this important work and how it may help build a roadmap that will empower the future of research for LGS and other pediatric epilepsies and rare diseases.

In this episode, leaders from the multidisciplinary Spina Bifida Center at Lurie Children's discuss their innovative approaches to spina bifida care in the areas of fetal surgery, neurosurgery, orthopedics, and urology. Learn about the latest advancements from the center, including a new orthopedic classification system that’s shaping the future of spina bifida treatment.

Pediatric and adolescent patients at risk of losing their fertility due to medical conditions and treatments have more options than ever before to preserve their fertility for the future. In this episode, Dr. Monica LaRonda, an expert in the field of reproductive biology, shares many new projects she is leading alongside surgeons in Lurie Children’s Fertility & Hormone Preservation & Restoration Program.

A good night's sleep is critical to the health and well being of children, but undiagnosed or untreated obstructive sleep apnea can prevent kids from getting much needed rest and is associated with cardiovascular complications, impaired growth, learning problems, and behavioral problems. In this episode of Precision, Drs. Saied Ghadersohi and Taher Valika discuss the importance of sleep for children and the impact of obstructive sleep disordered breathing, which affects nearly 5 percent of the youth population in the United States. They offer advice to parents and share insights on advanced treatments at Lurie Children’s Hospital which are helping kids get the rest they need.

Transformative care through pediatric plastic and reconstructive surgery takes place every day at Lurie Children's Cleft Lip and Palate Repair Program. In this episode, Dr. Arun Gosain, Division Head of Plastic Surgery at Lurie Children's, discusses the full spectrum of care the program offers to children with cleft lip and cleft palate, from birth through adulthood.

Lurie Children's Department of Anesthesiology administers tens of thousands of anesthetics every year to treat children with a range of health conditions. Leading these efforts is Anesthesiologist-in-Chief Dr. Olutoyin Olutoye. In this episode, Dr. Olutoye walks through her and her team members’ various roles before, during, and after an operation to ensure successful surgeries for even the tiniest babies. She also shares findings from her research in maternal-fetal anesthesiology as well as in anesthesia drugs and pediatric obesity.

Two Lurie Children's experts are on a mission to help define the next era of fetal cardiac intervention. In this episode, Dr. Sheetal Patel, a pediatric cardiologist and medical director of the fetal cardiology program at Lurie Children's, and Dr. Alan Nugent, a pediatric interventional cardiologist and section head of interventional cardiology catheterization at Lurie Children's, discuss their vision to use innovation and interventions to treat complex congenital heart diseases before birth.

Obesity affects millions of families, with about one in five U.S. children being impacted by the disease. In this episode, Lurie Children’s pediatric obesity expert Justin Ryder, PhD, explains the many ways to manage childhood obesity including the use of injectable GLP-1 receptor agonists that address the biological causes of this disease, weight-loss surgery and other resources available through Lurie Children’s Wellness and Weight Management Program. Dr. Ryder also advocates for Lurie Children’s mission: to improve access to these resources and treatments for all patients.

The Heart Transplant Program at Lurie Children's is one of the largest and most comprehensive heart transplant programs of its kind in the country. Just a few years ago, it reached a major milestone of completing its 400th pediatric heart transplant. The program's 40-person cardiovascular thoracic surgery team makes the program uniquely equipped to handle the most high-risk cases with exceptional care. In this episode, Dr. Michael Mongé, Surgical Director of the Lurie Children's Heart Transplant Program and Dr. Philip Thrush, Medical Director of the program, discuss how their team is uniquely equipped to take on high-risk pediatric heart transplantation patients, who are often turned away at other hospitals.

Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, known as DIPG, is a rare and aggressive type of pediatric cancer that forms in the brainstem, resulting in approximately 200 to 300 new cases in the United States each year. Fortunately, investigators at Lurie Children's Hospital are paving the way to breakthrough treatment for children with DIPG. In this episode, Lurie Children’s physicians Dr. Ashley Plant-Fox and Dr. Michael DeCuypere discuss the progress of this first-of-its-kind, phase 1 clinical trial for DIPG that has been open since January of 2022 and offers hope for a disease that currently has no curative options.

A disorder called Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or what is commonly referred to as POTS, has been on the rise in recent years in both adults and children. While surgery is not required, for children with cardiovascular symptoms of POTS, the Lurie Children's Heart Center team has taken a forward-thinking approach to treating the condition. Expanding its resources to meet increased demands, Lurie Children’s POTS program has become one of the few comprehensive programs for pediatric cases of POTS. In this episode, Jillian Myers, director of the POTS Program and Brittany Holst, a senior exercise physiologist within the program, discuss POTS in children, its ties to COVID-19 and other viral illnesses and treatment options that emphasize exercise and hydration.

Specialists within Lurie Children’s Clubfoot Treatment Program are changing the lives of children born with clubfoot and other congenital limb deformities, through gold standard care that starts soon after birth. In this episode, Dr. Rebecca Carl and Dr. Romie Gibly, both attending physicians in the Division of Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine at Lurie Children’s, explain the timeline of treatment, handling of complications and the long-term outcomes of patients who undergo clubfoot care at Lurie Children’s.

Throughout the evolution of neonatal and pediatric heart surgery, Lurie Children’s has built a reputation for building trust with families and providing the best possible care for children with complex heart conditions. In this episode, David Winlaw, MBBS, MD, FRACS, the surgical co-director of Lurie Children’s Heart Center, discusses early diagnosis of heart conditions, advancements in neonatal heart surgery, and the integrated cardiac team at Lurie Children’s Hospital

For children needing a new liver or kidney, the greatest hurdle is often finding a healthy organ. While the organs of deceased donors are extremely limited, living donors can offer pediatric patients a chance at life. Lurie Children’s Living Donor Transplant Program is the largest in the region thanks to a partnership with Northwestern Medicine. In this episode, Dr. Juan Caicedo and Dr. Satish Nadig, who lead the program, offer insight into this decades-long collaboration that has resulted in more than 1,700 solid organ transplants since its inception and offers organ donors and recipients the best and most comprehensive care possible.

The Lurie Children's Microtia and Aural Atresia Program is dedicated to improving hearing, communication and cosmetic outcomes for children born with microtia, a congenital birth defect affecting the ear's form and function. Leading this multidisciplinary initiative are co-directors Stephen Hoff, MD, and Akira Yamada, MD, PhD. On this episode, they discuss both the aural and reconstructive aspects of microtia treatment, as well as the program’s team of experts offering families the most innovative therapeutic and surgical options all in one place.

Since the early 1990s, under the direction of Nancy Young, MD, FACS, FAAP, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's of Chicago Cochlear Implant Program has provided cochlear implants to thousands of children with hearing loss, improving their hearing and quality of life. Now, new cochlear implant research at Lurie Children's led by Dr. Young is harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to help identify which children may benefit from more intensive therapy after their implant surgery. Dr. Young explains this research and how it could improve the lives of children beyond those with hearing loss.

The use of robotic technology in pediatric head and neck surgery is still in its infancy, but Dr. Douglas Johnston is leading progress in this field through Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago’s Comprehensive Pediatric Robotic Surgery Program. He is one of the few pediatric head and neck surgeons worldwide skilled at performing transoral robotic surgery on children. Dr. Johnston joins the show to explain the variety of head and neck pathologies where robotic technology at Lurie Children's can provide safe and effective surgical alternatives for patients.

The division of Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, cares for more than 49,000 patients with bone, joint, muscle ligament, and nerve disorders every year. In this episode, you will hear from three pediatric orthopedic specialists at Lurie Children's, Drs. Cynthia LaBella, Neeraj Patel, and Jill Larson, who are spearheading research to uncover and address inequities, improve treatment options and offer better access to care for all children who need it.

A cutting edge robotic surgery program at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago is helping surgeons perform intricate operations on children as young as two weeks old with unparalleled precision and control. Lurie Children's is one of the few free-standing pediatric hospitals in the world to offer this type of minimally invasive surgical option for children. In this episode, two Lurie Children’s surgeons detail how robotic surgery is a gamechanger for the field of surgery and young patients. Timothy Lautz, MD, is an expert in pediatric general surgery and surgical oncology and Bruce Lindgren, MD, is a renowned specialist in pediatric urology.