MDNews - Long Island

A WIDE RANGE OF SPECIALTIES WITH A SINGULAR FOCUS Stony Brook Children's has pediatric general, thoracic, neonatal, orthopedic, urolog ica l, ENT, ophtha lmolog y a nd neurologica l surgeons on staff, a ll of whom use a multidisciplinary approach to treat patients. At the dedicated Pediatric E m e r ge n c y D e p a r t m e nt , t h e A S C Level 1 Trauma Service provides prompt care for emergent cases, while employing a range of child-friendly techniques to reduce fear and build children's trust. Dedicated pediatric anesthesiologists are available around the clock for both scheduled and emergency surgeries. Stony Brook Children's also specializes in minima lly invasive surgery (MIS), wh ich ha s broa d i mplications f rom oncology to orthopedics and beyond. For instance, spine surgeons may employ MIS for scoliosis correction and the repair of other congenital or acquired conditions. Surgeons in the Pediatric Hematology/ Oncolog y Program may utilize MIS to resect pediatric cancers in delicate struc- tures or hard-to-reach locations. MIS may also be used for appendectomy, reflux surgery, and chest wall reconstruction and repair. Performed through tiny open- ings, MIS surgeries result in shortened hospital stays, minimal blood loss and reduced scarring. Regardless of their areas of special- ization, the pediatric surgeons at Stony Brook Children's assess patients and plan procedures in a manner that's distinct from that of adult surgeons. "When you have a five-year-old who is in an automobile accident and has a giant bruise across their abdomen, that instantly has implications in my mind about what's going on inside that child's abdomen," Dr. Muratore explains. "My thought process might be completely different from that of adult general and trauma surgeons who don't regularly take care of children." The specia lized training needed to practice pediatric surgery makes a dif- ference in treatment not just because of the size of the patient but because their bodies are still growing. Procedure choice and instrumentation are specia lized, too. And the tissues themselves may be biologically distinct from those found in adults, as in the case of pediatric oncology. "The developmental cancers that we take care of in children, whether in the abdomen, the chest or the brain, are really cancers of tissues that are undergoing developmental changes in differentiation," Dr. Muratore says. "Therefore they are treated differently." COORDINATED CARE FOR EVERY CHILD Dr. Muratore notes that the interdisciplin- ary team works together on treatment plans and procedures. He often uses his thoracic and abdominal expertise, for example, in partnership with orthopedic surgeons to plan spine surgeries. T h e C ompr e h e n s i v e Fe t a l C a r e Program exemplifies this multidisci- plinary approach. Pediatric cardiologists, nurse practitioners, neonatologists and materna l feta l medicine specia lists collaborate to take care of the smallest and most fragile newborns, often before they are even born. "We might identify a fetus prenatally who has a condition that warrants evalua- tion by a pediatric urologist, for example," Dr. Muratore says. "Our institution can provide that sort of comprehensive care to families before the children are born. Our pediatric surgeons ca n ma na ge specific delivery situations that require surgica l input and then be part of the postnatal management." The result is a coordinated continuum of ca re for mother a nd infa nt — ca re that extends seamlessly from prenatal to pediatric medicine. The community has noticed the difference: the number of patients at the Comprehensive Fetal Care Program has tripled in just the past three years, according to Dr. Muratore. PARTNERSHIPS WITH LOCAL PEDIATRICIANS Stony Brook Children's coordination of care doesn't stop at the hospital doors. It a lso extends to loca l pediatricians, who are regarded as partners in care. Dr. Muratore says he encourages physi- cians to reach out to him and his staff with questions about their patients. "We have created a system that allows a pediatrician to call and speak with me and say, 'I don't know what I'm looking at,' or, 'I think I'm looking at X, can you see the patient?'" Dr. Muratore says. "We're honored to collaborate with children's providers across Long Island." n To learn more, visit stonybrookchildrens.org/surgery. " It's great to work with colleagues who share the same vision and have the same feeling. When you look at the roster of talented surgeons here and their skill sets, you'll find surgeons who have trained at the top institutions around the country and have chosen to join Stony Brook Children's." — CHRISTOPHER S. MURATORE, MD, FACS, FAAP, CHIEF OF PEDIATRIC SURGERY AT STONY BROOK CHILDREN'S, KNAPP SWEZEY CHAIR IN PEDIATRIC SURGERY AND PROFESSOR OF SURGERY AT RENAISSANCE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE OF STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S L O N G I S L A N D ■ 2 0 21 1 3

• Cover