"Use of the right imaging modality can mean the difference between wrong and accurate diagnosis," says Douglas Baker, M.D., director of pediatric emergency medicine. "While CT scans can be very helpful, other radiation-free testing options are often just as useful diagnostic aids. Our emergency medicine physicians and pediatric radiologists will continue to work together to identify diagnostic plans that minimize risk to patients while maximizing accuracy of care."

Collaboration through Consolidation


All pediatric cardiac services - from consultation and diagnostics to imaging, catheterization and minimally invasive procedures - are, for the first time, consolidated under one roof at the Helen B. Taussig Congenital Heart Center. The proximity and integration will ensure smoother flow and more collaborative care for patients of all ages, from babies diagnosed in utero with heart disease to adults with congenital heart disease.

All adult heart and vascular services are located in the new hospital building and will occupy the entire fifth floor, spanning both towers. These include the cardiac care unit, the progressive cardiac care unit and the cardiac surgery intensive care unit, as well as the cardiac catheterization and electrophysiology labs, and operating rooms exclusively for cardiac and vascular surgery patients. There will be a combined prep/recovery unit for surgery patients and those undergoing interventional procedures. In addition, an echocardiography and vascular imaging lab will provide one-stop service for patients who require different types of ultrasound imaging. Minimally invasive aortic valve replacement and complex removals of implanted cardiac devices will be performed in "hybrid" rooms that can be turned into ORs if the need arises. One of the new electrophysiology labs is designed to accommodate magnetic resonance-guided ablation of abnormal heart rhythms, a technique that is on the horizon.

Especially for Kids

Each of the 10 pediatric operating rooms is designated to accommodate specific types of surgery, including general surgery, cardiac, neurological, renal, urologic,airway/ENT, orthopedic, plastic, pulmonary, head-and-neck and eye surgery. For example, the airway disorders OR features equipment in all pediatric sizes, from newborn to teen, to handle anything from foreign body obstructions to congenital disorders to airway malformations.

Instruments designed for different patient sizes will allow surgeons to perform procedures on even the tiniest of babies. For example, pediatric surgeon Jeffery Lukish, M.D., has developed a device that allows him to perform minimally invasive corrections of a congenital heart defect on babies as tiny as 550 grams (1.2 pounds)via 3-millimeter incisions in the chest.

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