Schneider 5775 Stats

• Over 50,000 children from all over the country were treated in the ER, the largest in the country
• 192,000 visits were registered in the outpatient clinics and institutes
• 49 organ transplantations
• 41 bone marrow transplantations

Following the devastating earthquake in Nepal, 6 premature infants born there were especially flown back to Israel; the infants were rushed by ambulance to Schneider Children’s immediately upon the plane’s landing accompanied by a medical team from the hospital. All the infants were released a few days later in good health.

Two children aged 6 and 14 underwent heart and lung transplants, an extremely complex and rare operation; both recipients recovered well.

A liver lobe was transplanted into a 5-month-old infant, the smallest recipient ever in the country. The infant suffered from severe liver disease. Her mother donated the liver lobe thus saving her daughter’s life. The organ transplant team required special preparedness including delicate instrumentation that could handle the infant’s tiny blood vessels. The baby was discharged after a period of recuperation.

The results of a research study conducted by specialists at Schneider Children’s were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study proved that the age an infant is exposed to gluten does not affect the appearance of Celiac Disease. The findings revealed that exposure of small amounts of gluten at the age of 4-6 months does not affect the manifestation of Celiac, breast feeding does not affect the disease and that genetic characteristics are the most significant risk factors. The broad-sweeping research showed that Celiac Disease appears irrespective of the age an infant is exposed to gluten or breast-feeding, as opposed to current recommendations.

The Gift Room Project sponsored by “Our Children” organization that supports Schneider Children’s was considerably expanded during the past year due to thousands of gifts received from all over the country such as toys and games. The donations were received following a text message sent by one of the organization’s volunteers and received national exposure. As part of the project, gifts are distributed daily to hospitalized children by volunteers. Because of the huge response, additional gift rooms were opened in other pediatric departments in hospitals around the country.

Physicians at the hospital were amazed to discover a bullet lodged in the stomach of a five-year-old boy. The child had found the bullet during a family outing, and while playing, swallowed it by mistake. Doctors at Schneider Children’s conducted a number of consultations with specialists including toxicologists and police sappers. As a rule, foreign bodies are removed through endoscopy in the operating room; however, in this case, there was great fear that contact with the metal might cause a chemical reaction in the boy’s body. It was therefore decided to wait until the bullet passed out the body naturally. After a few days, this indeed occurred.

Doctors at Schneider Children’s proved that a unique formula given to healthy, short stature and thin children over a period of 6 months, dramatically improved their height and weight. It was further shown that despite having taken the formula for many months, the children’s BMI (Body-Mass Index) remained normal without becoming overweight. The results of the research were published in the prestigious international Journal of Pediatrics. Following the successful trial, the formula was marketed to the general public.

The Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit at Schneider Children’s received prestigious accreditation from JACIE (The Joint Accreditation Committee ISCT and EBMT) which conducts evaluation and validation of global medical centers providing bone marrow transplantations. This important recognition confirms the hospital’s status as a leading medical center in the world today for bone marrow transplantation by meeting the highest medical standards required in the field.