Why choose us?
The pediatric liver transplant program at Children's Memorial is largest program of its kind in Illinois and performs more than 75 percent of all pediatric transplants in the state. Some highlights of our program:
-
The liver transplant team performs an average of 20 liver transplants annually.
-
The program has one-year patient survival rates greater than 90 percent.
-
Since our program's inception, we have consistently ranked among the top 10 centers in volume and we have performed the 8th highest number of transplants in the nation.
-
Our liver transplant team is one of the world's most experienced, offering the combined expertise of leaders who each garner more than 20 years of pediatric liver transplantation experience.
-
The program offers multidisciplinary, state-of-the-art, individualized care for patients.
-
We provide patient-centered care to all families in need of transplantation by working closely with the family from the moment of referral to make sure all the necessary steps are addressed. We know that communicating at every step with the family assures their complete understanding of the process.
-
Our clinical team offers special emphasis on long-term follow-up care, which means they are available to answer questions 5-20 years after transplantation.
-
We recognize the need to have innovative ways to transplant pediatric patients and offer transplant surgeons who are specifically trained to care for pediatric patients.
-
Our transplant surgeons have developed innovative ways to successfully treat and avoid transplantation for several complex conditions, including aggressive resection of hepatoblastoma and innovative approaches to portal vein thrombosis and portal hypertension.
Internationally renowned expertise
Our leaders have pioneered procedures now used around the world and also have a significant investment in and commitment to clinical and laboratory research. This allows our team to lead the way in improving the health of children with liver disease. Some examples of this are:
-
Pediatric hepatologist
Peter F. Whitington, MD, played a leading role in developing the intricate surgical techniques that have made living-donor pediatric liver transplants possible.
-
Pediatric surgeon
Riccardo Superina, MD, was one of the first surgeons to routinely perform the
rex shunt, an innovative procedure that corrects portal
vein thrombosis, and in most cases, avoids the need for transplantation.
-
Pediatric hepatologist
Estella M. Alonso, MD, is leading several outcomes-based research studies to understand how children with liver transplants function in everyday living. Since these areas have not been previously well-documented, the information gained from these studies will help gain insights on how children and their families adapt to life with a liver transplant.
Innovative approaches and techniques
Our pediatric liver transplant program offers one of the most experienced liver transplant teams in the world, combining expertise of leaders who have managed more than 600 pediatric liver transplants. These world-renowned leaders have contributed to innovations in liver transplant that make our program on of the country's top 10 for pediatric liver transplantation. Some of these areas of innovation include:
-
Reduced size liver transplantation, in which part of a liver from a larger donor is used to transplant a smaller recipient.
-
Split-liver transplantation, in which one donor liver is used to transplant two recipients.
Support services
Children's Memorial is committed to offering our transplant patients and families comprehensive care and offers a wide variety of support services, including: