El Levine Children's Hospital dará inicio al programa de trasplante de médula ósea
18 de marzo de 2008
Andrew L. Gilman MD, a specialist in bone marrow transplantation, has moved to Charlotte to start a new program at Levine Children's Hospital. Bone marrow transplantation, a process to treat patients with both cancerous and non-cancerous conditions, will be one of more than 30 specialty services available at the hospital, which opened to patients in December 2007.
El Dr. Leonard Feld, Jefe de Pediatría del Carolinas Medical Center y Director Médico del Levine, declaró que el nuevo servicio tiene una importancia crítica para la región, dado que los procedimientos de trasplante generalmente exigen la presencia de un familiar en el lugar durante períodos de hasta tres meses o más.
'We are tremendously excited that Dr. Gilman and his team will be practicing in Charlotte,' he said. 'He is nationally known in the field and is a principal investigator for clinical trials sponsored by the ‘Children's Oncology Group,' the nation's premier organization for pediatric cancer research.
'I am also pleased that people in this area will no longer have to travel long distances to receive this type of care, with all the attendant stresses that accompany an already serious medical situation.'
Dr. Feld said that the service would be limited to pediatric patients, typically those up to age 18, although patients treated in their late teen years will have follow-up care available at Levine Children's Hospital as needed. He said Dr. Gilman would start providing consultations now, but that preparations for actual start-up would take about three months.
Después de la puesta en marcha, habrá tres centros médicos en Carolina del Norte que ofrecerán trasplantes pediátricos de médula ósea, incluidos Duke y UNC-Chapel Hill. El Dr. Gilman dijo que es un procedimiento altamente especializado que, en la actualidad, se ofrece únicamente en 70-80 centros en todo el país.
El trasplante de sangre y médula implica la transferencia de células madre sanas de la médula ósea o la sangre de un donante al paciente. Esto se realiza tras administrar al paciente radioterapia y/o altas dosis de quimioterapia. El Dr. Gilman dijo que los hermanos con tipos de tejidos compatibles con los del paciente son los mejores donantes, pero sólo un 25 % o menos de los pacientes tienen un donante con esas características.
Stem cells can also be obtained from a matched unrelated donor when available. In the case of solid tumors of childhood, when the patient's stem cells can be collected without cancer cells being present, the patient's own stem cells are used. The stem cells are collected and then frozen in the laboratory. After the patient has received high doses of chemotherapy, the stem cells are thawed and infused to the patient to rescue the bone marrow.
Dr. Gilman's own specialty and clinical research focus involves transplants using a parent who is a 'half match.' 'With this approach,' he said, 'almost every child has a donor available.'
Declaró que los trasplantes que utilizan donantes no compatibles o los padres se realizan en menos de 10 centros médicos en todo el país. Este tipo de trasplante exige una experiencia muy especializada por parte del equipo médico, además de un soporte de laboratorio altamente sofisticado para el procesamiento.
El Dr. Gilman afirmó que las afecciones cancerígenas que pueden tratarse con trasplantes de médula ósea incluyen leucemia, linfoma y tumores sólidos, incluidos los tumores cerebrales. Las afecciones no cancerígenas incluyen la enfermedad drepanocítica, las inmunodeficiencias hereditarias, los trastornos metabólicos hereditarios y las enfermedades sanguíneas no cancerígenas.
According to Martha Whitecotton, Administrator of Levine Children's Hospital, Charlotte has been one of the largest cities in the United States without a bone marrow transplantation center.
'In terms of demographics, Charlotte now has the critical mass needed to support this type of service,' she said. 'It coincides very nicely with the opening of Levine, and the desire on our part to offer the widest possible range of pediatric specialties and sub-specialties. The new service will be a magnet for families throughout the Carolinas, and most likely from a broader area as well, based on Dr. Gilman's reputation and the capabilities of our staff.'
Dr. Gilman is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and earned his M.D. from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. He completed a residency in pediatrics at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and later did a fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.
Before accepting a position at Levine Children's Hospital, he taught and practiced medicine as the Director of Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation at UNC-Chapel Hill. Previously, he was the Director of Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City.
He is board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics as well as that organization's Sub-specialty Board for Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. He is an author and reviewer for medical journals and speaks throughout the country on medical topics. He is a member of the American Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and several other professional organizations related to his medical and research specialties.
Levine Children's Hospital, is a 234-bed, 248,000-square-foot facility located on the main campus of Carolinas Medical Center. Named in honor of Sandra and Leon Levine, it opened to patients in December and is the largest children's hospital between Atlanta and Washington D.C.
El Carolinas HealthCare System es el sistema de atención médica más importante de las Carolinas y el tercer sistema público más importante de la nación. CHS posee, alquila o administra 23 hospitales en Carolina del Norte y del Sur, y emplea a más de 1,000 médicos que ejercen la medicina en más de 250 centros. El CHS opera asimismo hospitales de rehabilitación, hogares de ancianos, centros de cirugía ambulatoria, agencias de atención a domicilio, centros de radioterapia y centros de fisioterapia. En conjunto, estas operaciones comprenden aproximadamente 4,900 camas autorizadas y dan empleo a más de 35,000 empleados de tiempo completo y de medio tiempo.
CHS's flagship facility is Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, an 874-bed hospital which includes a Level I Trauma Center, a research institute, Levine Children's Hospital, and a large number of specialty treatment units (heart, cancer, organ transplant, behavioral health, etc.). CMC also serves as one of North Carolina's five Academic Medical Center Teaching Hospitals, providing residency training for over 200 physicians in 15 specialties.
Carolinas Medical Center has been named the 'Consumer's Choice Preferred Hospital' in the Charlotte market by the National Research Corporation 10 times. U.S. News & World Report named CMC to its 2007-2008 ranking of 'America's Best Hospitals' for urology and orthopedics. CMC is also the first hospital in North Carolina to be recognized by J.D. Power and Associates for service excellence in maternity care.
