Authors: Kathryn Mueller
When speaking about breast and colorectal cancers, typically you wouldn’t think of children. These cancers are considered adult conditions and rarely occur in individuals under the age of 21. But according to two new studies from the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB), although these diseases are rare in kids, they do still occur.
“The thought that kids even face these diseases is surprising,” said Dr. Morgan Richards, research fellow in the division of general surgery at Seattle Children’s Hospital. “But that’s why it’s important to study such diseases.”
According to investigators at Seattle Children’s Hospital and Maine Medical Center, who presented this week at the 2014 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons, the studies highlight the need for an increased awareness among pediatric clinicians that these cancers do occur in children and a stronger collaboration between adult clinicians and pediatric care providers to increase survival rates. Read full post »
Authors: Kathryn Mueller
Sometimes, everyday moments can have the most profound impact on an individual’s life. For Dr. Jeffrey Avansino, a surgeon at Seattle Children’s Hospital, that moment came many years ago as a new attending physician. An appointment with an 8-year-old girl changed his path as a doctor and inspired him to become a national leader in reconstructive pelvic medicine.
“There needed to be a better way”
“I walked into the exam room not really knowing what to expect,” said Avansino. “The little girl I was seeing that day had fecal incontinence and had previously undergone surgery to repair an anorectal malformation.”
For most of the appointment she hid behind her mother, not wanting to talk. She was socially withdrawn, and her mother explained that she was having trouble concentrating at school. Avansino learned from their discussion that she had been going to school in diapers. She wasn’t able to control her bowels and would have accidents throughout the school day.
“I was shocked,” said Avansino. “I knew I needed to do something to help, but also I couldn’t manage patients like her on an individual level.” Read full post »
Authors: Kathryn Mueller
Shortly after Julie Wyatt delivered baby Nolan Wyatt on December 15, 2013 in Olympia, she received some startling news. Nolan was diagnosed with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) – a hole in his diaphragm – a potentially life-threatening condition. It was something they didn’t see coming. Typically, CDH can be diagnosed before birth using an ultrasound, but Nolan was a rare exception. Read full post »
Authors: Andreas Aarsvold
On a Saturday in March, 13-year-old Trey Lauren was playing with his friends at a birthday party when he fell and cut his knee on a nail. It was a typical injury for a kid his age, but what resulted was anything but typical.
Trey was taken to a local emergency room that night, and by Sunday morning his wound had been closed with six stitches. But when Monday morning came, he was too sick with a fever to go to school, and his knee had begun to swell. Trey’s parents, Mark and Randi Lauren, decided to take him to urgent care, where his stitches were removed and he was started on antibiotics. However, later that night, Trey’s fever persisted, and the swelling in his knee had only gotten worse.
One trip to the emergency room later, Trey received an additional dose of broad spectrum antibiotics, and the decision was made to transfer him to Seattle Children’s Hospital. Read full post »
