Forefront
Emile Bacha, M.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery and Director of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, has performed two remarkable surgical firsts in the last 6 months. In late January, Bacha used a da Vinci robot to perform a vascular ring division on a 13 kg male patient. Robotic ring
divisions, which correct errant blood vessels constricting the airway, have been performed on children before, but Dr. Bacha’s effort is a world first on a child this small. Then, in May, Bacha followed this up with another world first: a robotic cardiac mitral valve repair on a pediatric patient, in this case a 7-year-old boy.
The use of robotic surgical techniques on children is a new field and one populated by a very select group. At present, only 4 US teams have successfully adapted robots for cardiac surgical use in children: Children’s Hospital in Boston (Harvard), the University of Michigan, Stanford University, and the University of Chicago. Robots were initially developed in the early 1990s for use on adults in orthopedic surgery, then expanded into other surgical domains. Approximately 140 da Vinci robots are now in use in the US primarily for adult patients, and of this group approximately 100 are dedicated to cardiac surgery.
The application of robotic surgical procedures to children is therefore not only natural but logical – after all, as Dr. Bacha notes, “what differentiates robots from standard cardiac surgical procedures is not necessarily the precision but rather the minimal invasiveness.” Because robots gain access through miniscule ports, they eliminate the breaking of bones or opening of the chest or abdomen that typify standard cardiac surgery. Surgical trauma is thereby reduced substantially, as are recovery times. The benefits to children and their parents are obvious and enormous.
In the ring division, for example, Bacha noted that the patient also suffered from complications related to a neuromuscular disorder. It was therefore highly preferable for the patient and the surgeon to avoid a large incision. A similar consideration was true for the mitral valve repair. Standard procedure would have required Bacha to split the child’s sternum in order to perform the procedure. In both cases, these unsavory options were eliminated and, most importantly, both children have achieved complete recoveries.
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Kurt Hecox, M.D., Associate Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, and Section Chief of Pediatric Neurology, is utilizing three-dimensional Department of Defense radar to pinpoint and treat seizure activity. The University of Chicago is the only US site using the technology.
Valluvan Jeevanandam, M.D., Professor of Surgery and Section Chief of Cardiac Surgery, David Cronin, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Surgery, and J. Richard Thistlethwaite, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Surgery, teamed up to perform America’s 4th triple (heart-kidney-liver) transplant.
The BSD aims Action Planning Process ConcludesThe aims for BSD Action Planning Committees concluded deliberations and submitted their final report to Dean Madara on June 9th, 2003....
BSD Teams Sparkle in New Venture ChallengeSixty teams began this year's Edward L. Kaplan New Venture Challenge, a business plan competition sponsored by the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business...
Discoveries A 161 million-year-old Mongolian fossil not only reveals a new species of salamanders, but also provides proof that much of the evolution of salamanders occurred in Asia...
Aims Updates
Removal of Public Distinction of Title, Modest Expansion of the Research Faculty, Academic Affairs, Cost Reduction...
EDUCATION
Holly Humphrey, M.D., Professor in the Department of Medicine, Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program, and Associate Dean of Students in the Pritzker School of Medicine, was named the new Dean of Medical Education...
FOREFRONT
Emile Bacha, M.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery and Director of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, has performed two remarkable surgical firsts in the last 6 months...
DEVELOPMENT
The BSD and the Hospitals are major partners in The Chicago Initiative, the University's current campaign to raise $2 billion. Within the Initiative, $550 million is set as the target for Spark Discovery, Illuminate Life, the combined BSD/UCH effort...
ACCOLADES
Recent Awards and Grants Information for Biological Sciences Division Faculty
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
Recent Recruitemnts and Appointments of Biological Sciences Division Faculty
Dollars & Sense
BSD met its financial targets for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2003. Preliminary results indicate...
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