Pediatric Surgery Update

Pediatric Burn Program Offers 21st Century, Innovative Burn Care

The MUSC Children’s Hospital pediatric burn program provides comprehensive burn care to South Carolina’s  children. Treating more than 200 patients a year, the program is the only tertiary burn program in the state. Aaron Lesher, M.D., pediatric surgeon, leads the pediatric burn program. 

Steven Kahn, M.D., a national leader in burn surgery,  has been recruited to MUSC to build a comprehensive burn center that will expand the current services to provide care for patients of all ages. The MUSC pediatric burn program continues to offer 21st century, innovative burn care to its patients.

Lesher has led a significant effort in telemedicine to improve access to expert burn care for children from the far corners of the state. With support from the BlueCross BlueShield of SC Foundation, he developed a mobile health solution that connects burn-injured children to the burn surgeons at MUSC during the acute and chronic phases of burn injury.  

Chest Wall Deformity Video Educates Families and Providers

The Center for Chest Wall Deformities at MUSC Children’s Health offers the most advanced level of health care for chest wall deformities by some of the country’s most experienced surgeons.

Chest wall deformities often include conditions such as pectus excavatum, a congenital disorder which causes the chest to have a depressed or “caved in” appearance. This condition can worsen as the child ages and some children report chest pain, shortness of breath or limited tolerance for exercise. It is the most common congenital chest wall anomaly in children.

Surgery is the primary treatment for moderate to severe pectus excavatum, particularly when there are associated symptoms. A new video on the MUSC Health Medical Video Center website  reviews each part of the surgery needed to correct the pectus deformity.

Narrated by MUSC Chief of Pediatric Surgery, Christian J. Streck, M.D., the video helps educate physicians and families about the procedure.  “When you talk to patients post-operatively it’s very clear in many cases that their ability to run and swim and do other sports is much improved,” Streck said.    

Heart Center Continues to Earn Three-star Rating for Congenital Heart Surgery

MUSC Children’s Heart Center has once again earned a distinguished three-star rating from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) for its patient care and outcomes in congenital heart surgery. This represents the 8th consecutive semiannual report where the Heart Center has received this rating.

The three-star rating denotes an operative mortality over four years which is significantly below expected. It was achieved by only 10 out of 118 programs nationally.

“Dr. Kavarana and I are excited to see MUSC Children’s Heart Center has once again earned a three-star rating,” said Dr. Bradley. “Our entire pediatric cardiac team is pleased with our group’s achievement.”