Pediatrics

Our Biggest Efforts for our Smallest Patients

To deliver the finest care to our smallest patients, HIMAHEALTH offers the Center for Pediatric and Adolescent Specialties (also known in Spanish as Centro de Especialidades Pediatricas Y Adolecentes,) or CEPA. This modern pediatric center combines the latest technological advances with the most accomplished, highly trained physician specialists for the best level of care possible.

Within CEPA we’ve recruited the top pediatric specialists from the leading university and hospital programs so that we can treat almost any pediatric problems. This handpicked, international team of U.S. board-certified physicians brings the latest training and the highest technical proficiency within pediatrics. Working as an integrated group, CEPA physicians often team up to provide the full benefits of integrated, value-based medicine to every patient. Pediatrics is enjoying some of the biggest breakthroughs in medicine in recent years. For example, recent advances in pediatric gastroenterology have revolutionized the practice. Of particular interest is our work in endoscopy where we are delivering cutting-edge treatment noninvasively in children, babies and even in utero.

With the premise that less surgical intervention is better medicine, we are delivering lifesaving treatment with far less trauma. Two areas of ongoing research for CEPA physicians involve ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography) and pediatric fatty liver, a burgeoning problem is today’s youth.

When you choose CEPA at HIMAHEALTH, you’ll feel reassured that your child is getting the most modern treatment available through the use of advanced protocols and equipment such as:

• Aquilion® ONE super CT scanner, providing dynamic-volume, whole-organ, holographic image 4D scans in as little as five seconds;
• Robotic da Vinci® Surgical System, providing unequalled delicacy and precision in urologic, kidney and other procedures;
• Laparoscopic procedures for minimally invasive treatment of gastroenterological, neurological and orthopaedic conditions;
• Our dedicated pediatric anesthesiologists who provide unparalleled safety and security in our surgical center.

OUR PEDIATRIC CENTER

Our integrated pediatric services are composed of the maternal–infant care center, neonatal intensive care, constant care units, pediatric intensive care, general pediatric care, 24/7 pediatric emergency services and more than 15 subspecialties.

INTENSIVE CARE AND CONSTANT CARE UNITS

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Constant Care Unit (CCU) at our facilities offer critical care services to the premature patient. The medical group is composed of neonatologists and pediatricians with training in neonatal intensive care. Nurses are also trained in neonatal and pediatric intensive care. Medical services are available 24 hours, 7 days a week.

As part of our Center’s concept we have the “Amigo Del Niño” (Child’s Friend) program dedicated to the promotion and utilization of breast milk as the primary source of nutrition, offering maternal support for the storage and preservation of maternal milk.

The patient healthcare team is composed of intensive care nurses and a respiratory therapy team. Also we have a medical consult team in areas such as pediatric cardiology, urology, pneumology, hematology, genetics, nephrology, gastroenterology, neurology, infectology and surgery.

Under the services directed to the patient are phototherapy, Ret Cam (retinopathy detector in the premature) and oxygen supplements like nitric oxide for the pulmonary hypertension in the neonatal patient.

PEDIATRIC INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

When children are seriously ill they require intensive care facilities with pediatric critical care specialists and nurses trained in intensive care. At our Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) we offer specialized services for children ranging from newborns to 21 years of age who suffer from a variety of diseases and injuries. A consultation team is also part of the program for all pediatric patients that need care in pediatric subspecialties.

PEDIATRIC SUBSPECIALTIES

Pediatric Nephrology - Kidney conditions in children
Main Procedure: Renal biopsy (to obtain a tissue diagnosis of a disorder when the exact nature or stage remains uncertain)

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology - Blood disorders and conditions
Main Procedures: Bone marrow aspiration and biopsy (pathologic analysis of samples of bone marrow used in the diagnosis of a number of conditions, including leukemia, multiple myeloma, anemia and pancytopenia)

Pediatric Pneumology - Conditions of the respiratory system

Procedures:

• Bronchoscopy (technique of visualizing the inside of the airways for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes; this allows the practitioner to examine the patient's airways for abnormalities such as foreign bodies, bleeding, tumors or inflammation)
• Allergy Testing
• Sleep Studies (nasal and oral airflow can be measured and allow the clinician to measure rate of respiration or help to diagnose sleep apnea)
• Pulmonary Function Test (helpful in assessing conditions such as asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis and COPD)

Pediatric Rheumatology - Muscle and joint conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis

Pediatric Surgery
General Surgery focuses on abdominal organs, e.g. intestines including esophagus, stomach, colon, liver, gallbladder and bile ducts, and hernias

Pediatric Orthopaedics surgically treats conditions of the musculoskeletal system, which include trauma (knee, hip, shoulder, etc.), birth defects, postural deformities, genetic anomalies, walking disorders, assistive needs, specialized surgical reconstruction

Pediatric ENT focuses on conditions of the ear, nose or throat

Procedures include:

• Laryngomalacia - common condition of infancy in which the soft, immature cartilage of the upper larynx collapses inward during inhalation, causing airway obstruction
• Caustic ingestion
• Obstructive sleep apnea - sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep
• Tonsillectomy - surgical procedure in which the tonsils are removed
• Adenoidectomy - surgical removal of the adenoids
• Myringotomy and tubes - surgical procedure in which a tiny incision is created in the eardrum so as to relieve pressure caused by the excessive buildup of fluid or to drain pus; often performed as a treatment for otitis media

Pediatric Gastroenterology - Conditions of the gastro-intestinal area and liver

Main Procedures:

• Esophagogastroduodenoscopy - diagnostic endoscopic procedure that visualizes the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract up to the duodenum
• Colonoscopy - endoscopic examination of the large colon and the distal part of the small bowel
• Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) - technique that combines the use of endoscopy and fluoroscopy to diagnose and treat certain problems of the biliary or pancreatic ductal systems
• Liver biopsy - often required for the diagnosis of a liver problem where blood tests have not been able to identify a cause

Pediatric Urology - Conditions of the urinary tract of females and males

Procedures:

• Circumcisions
• Hernia repair
• Urodynamic studies - play an important diagnostic role in neurourology; neurological diseases and disorders can disrupt the lower urinary tract and result in conditions such as urinary incontinence, detrusor overactivity, urinary retention, and bladder sphincter dyssynergia
• Evaluation of other urologic disorders in children - cryptorchism, congenital abnormalities of the genito-urinary tract, enuresis, vesicoureteral reflux
• Surgical correction of hypospadias and epispadias
• Ureteral stent - a small tube between the bladder and the inside of the kidney to provide immediate relief of a blocked kidney
• Cystoscopy - endoscopy of the urinary bladder via the urethra
• Orchiopexy or Orchidopexy - surgery to move an undescended testicle and permanently fix it into the scrotum
• Varicocelectomy - the surgical correction of a varicocele, an abnormal enlargement of the veins in the scrotum draining the testicles

Pediatric Endocrinology - Conditions of the endocrine system such as diabetes, thyroid diseases

Pediatric Neurology - Conditions of the nervous system and the brain

Pediatric Neurosurgery - Surgical treatment for central, peripheral nervous system and spinal column diseases

We also have allied services that provide:

• Pediatric Cardiology
• Pediatric Audiology
• Pediatric Psychiatry
• Pediatric Ophthalmology
• Pediatric Geneticist