Cardiology/Heart
One of the top five hospitals in the United States for pediatric heart transplants
and one of the top pediatric hospitals in the nation. In fact, we averaged over
600 procedures in 2004 alone. Children’s Heart Center is a place of care,
love and hope for your child…and family. More.
Neonatal Babies
ACH Neonatal Unit
March 2005 marked the 25th anniversary of the ACH Neonatal Intensive Care
Unit (NICU). With 65 bassinets and the ability to care for more than 80 infants, the unit is one of the largest in the nation.
Bassinets and equipment are arranged in six-unit pods where there is a noticeable
reduction in the bright lights and noise levels. Other facilities include a
lactation room and five multi-purpose rooms that can be used for teaching homecare
or mother-child bonding.
Advances in technology and prenatal care make it possible to deliver a baby
at 24 weeks gestation with improved outcomes. Medical advances, such as those
practiced at ACH, have reduced the rate of mortality (death) from 25% in 1980
to 5% today. One major breakthrough is the development of artificial "surfactant",
which helps lubricate a baby’s lungs and makes those lungs pliable. Premature
infants can’t produce surfactant on their own, so breathing for them is like
blowing up a balloon for the first time every time. Artificial surfactant has
made it possible to ventilate without damaging the lungs.
Click here to view quality of care data for the ACH NICU.
Pain Management in Neonates
Dr. Sunny Anand, as guest editor for a recent issue of Seminars in Perinatology,
compiled a series of articles from various researchers, including himself, on
the subject of pain management for children up to age 18 months. Dr. Anand is
a recognized world leader in pain management in children. This just-published
research tells how to determine pain and intensity in a newborn and how to deal
with it. Until recently, it was commonly believed that newborns did not feel
pain, or felt it only minimally. That has now been proven untrue.
Neurosciences/Brain
Cerebral Palsy and Baclofen Pumps
Our neurosciences center of excellence is particularly outstanding in its groundbreaking
work with neuromuscular problems such as cerebral palsy. Currently ACH is one
of only three children’s hospitals in the country testing the treatment of muscular
spasticity with the new drug Baclofen. A pre-programmed pump, permanently inserted
in the body administers this medication that injects the drug directly into
the spinal area. This has allowed children to walk when they previously had
no use of their legs.
Epilepsy and Vagal Nerve Stimulators
Dr. May Griebel has overseen the State’s first two surgically implanted Vagal
Nerve Stimulators for epilepsy. The pre-programmed stimulator sends periodic,
brief electrical charges to the brain via attachment to a nerve in the neck.
This stops or lessens the intensity of severe seizures. ACH is one of a handful
of test sites for the device, sometimes referred to as a "pacemaker for the
brain."
Oncology/Cancer
Stem-Cell Transplants
Our oncology program is a full-member institution with the national network
of children’s hospitals called Pediatric Oncology Group (POG). This group meets
regularly to share information on children’s cancer and standardize treatment
protocols for each different kind. There are approximately 100 member institutions
nationwide. This means our patients receive the same treatment given at all
the leading children’s cancer institutions in the nation. For example, ACH does
the new stem-cell transplant which involves giving the patient’s own pre-harvested
and frozen, healthy blood cells back to him/her after intense chemotherapy.
This precludes the need for anti-rejection drugs and can lead to a patient’s
full recovery.
Cancer and Nutrition
A new and just-published discovery at the Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center
indicates that the inclusion of a certain modified whey protein from cow’s milk
in an infant’s diet may play a large role in preventing breast cancer in that
individual later in life. In a paper published January 19, 2000 in the prestigious
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, a journal of the American Association
of Cancer Research, Dr. Tom Badger, head of the nutrition research center, and
his associates make the report.
Orthopaedics
Dr. James Aronson is the recognized leading practitioner of the Ilizarov bone-lengthening
technique in the United States. He is one of only a half-dozen orthopaedic surgeons
in America who are truly accomplished in this procedure. He studied this unique
method of lengthening short limbs from the developer of the process, Professor
G.A. Ilizarov in Siberia in the 1980s and was the first to bring it to this
country. It is a complex procedure involving the severing of bones and attachment
of external metal fixators (braces) to stretch them as they heal.
Pulmonary/Lung
Assisted Breathing for Muscular Dystrophy Patients During Sleep
The ACH Pulmonary Department, headed by Dr. John Carroll was chosen by the national
Muscular Dystrophy Association to be featured in a video produced for the Muscular
Dystrophy Telethon hosted by Jerry Lewis. The video describes new methods of
assisted breathing of Muscular Dystrophy patients, especially during sleep.
The association cited ACH as being one of the three best hospitals in America
in this area.
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) is a heart-lung bypass designed for
use over a long period of time (days or weeks) as opposed to the short-term
machines used for open-heart surgery. ACH is one of only two hospitals in America
that can fly an ECMO patient.
Radiology
A team headed by radiologist Dr. Joanna Seibert and sonographer David Kinder,
in collaboration with a team led by hematologist Dr. Suzanne Saccente, discovered
and now teaches a method of screening sickle-cell patients for risk of stroke.
Stroke is one of the worst side effects of the disease that predominately strikes
African Americans. The risk of strokes can be lessened by blood transfusion
if the at-risk patients can be identified. Previously this required an MRI and
other procedures, but the ACH team has found a way to accomplish it using a
simple ultrasound to examine the blood vessels in the head that supply the brain
with blood. We hold seminars to teach the method to other health care providers
from around the United States. ACH is treating approximately 450 sickle cell
outpatients at any given time.
Surgery
da Vinci Surgical System
In April of 2003, Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) announced the installment
of newly-developed robotic surgery technology for its patients. The equipment
is known as the da Vinci surgical system. ACH is only the second independent
pediatric hospital to install this equipment. Robotic surgery incorporates robotic
technology with minimally invasive surgery. The help of the robot allows the
surgeon to perform complex operations through small incisions, which may result
in less pain and a faster recovery for the patient.
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