Pediatric Cerebrovascular Center Is One of the Most Experienced in the World

The Pediatric Cerebrovascular Center (PCC) at Cincinnati Children’s is one of the only comprehensive, multidisciplinary centers in North America that provides advanced subspeciality care to children with cerebrovascular and spinal vascular diseases. Our center is truly distinguished in that every child seen in our clinic has their case presented and reviewed in a multi-disciplinary case conference by a panel of pediatric subspecialty trained experts, which includes a pediatric neuroradiologist, a pediatric interventional neuroradiologist, a pediatric neurosurgeon, a pediatric neurologist, a pediatric hematologist, a pediatric neuropsychologist, a clinical genetics counselor and a pediatric physical medicine/rehabilitation specialist. Our key team members include:

• Dr. Todd Abruzzo– pediatric (and adult) interventional neuroradiologist, and co-director of PCC
• Dr. Sudhakar Vadivelu– pediatric neurosurgeon/endovascular neurosurgeon and co-director of PCC
• Dr. John Michael Taylor– pediatric neurologist
• Dr. James Leach– pediatric neuroradiologist
• Dr. Lori Luchtman-Jones– pediatric hematologist
• Dr. Adrienne Hammill– pediatric hematologist
• Dr. Anna Byars– pediatric neuropsychology
• Katie Wusik– certified pediatric clinical genetics counselor
• Dr. Douglas Kinnett– pediatric physical medicine and rehabilitation

Image: Cavernous Malformation. A cavernous malformation is group of small blood vessels (capillaries) in the brain that binds together to form a small tunnel of blood in the brain.

Our team of highly trained specialists began seeing patients at the PCC in July 2013. Since that time the annual number of consultations seen by our group has increased ten-fold. During the 2015-2016 academic year, 235 patients were seen in our PCC, making it one of the most experienced centers of its kind in the world. One success story: A little boy who suffered a stroke and, as a result, was unable to speak had his aneurysm successfully treated and is now bilingual. Our faculty are widely recognized as leaders in the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric neurovascular conditions.

Contributed by Dr. Todd Abruzzo and edited by Janet Adams, (ADV TECH-US).