Infant Treated for Rare Lung Disorder at Good Samaritan Hospital

John Mitty Thursday, April 18, 2013

West Islip, NY - Congenital lobar emphysema (CLE) is an extremely rare lung condition affecting fewer than one in 20,000 babies. Unfortunately, four-month-old Grant Denning beat those odds. Born five weeks early, Grant was hospitalized for respiratory distress several times in his first three months of life while his twin, Rowan was fine.

When Grant’s condition failed to improve, his parents brought him to Good Samaritan Hospital-affiliated pediatric pulmonologist Louis E. Guida, Jr., MD, who sent the family to Good Samaritan’s Pediatric Emergency Department. There, the baby was diagnosed with CLE, a condition that causes air to become trapped in one lobe of the lung. Surgery was recommended.

Vinci Jones, MD, Chief of Pediatric Surgery at Good Samaritan, performed a thoracic lobectomy to remove a lobe of Grant’s lung – a rare and delicate procedure in a four-month-old infant. In addition to Dr. Jones’ surgical skills, Grant benefited from the expertise of pediatric anesthesiologist Paul T. Scarola, DO, who kept him sedated throughout the X-hour procedure.

Grant spent more than four weeks recovering in Good Samaritan’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) where he was monitored by a team of pediatric specialists including Dimitry Vaysman, MD, pulmonologist with Good Samaritan’s Center for Pediatric Specialty Care, before being sent home with his grateful family. Dr. Jones says that Grant’s prognosis is excellent and he is expected to grow and develop normally alongside his twin brother.

“Our son’s treatment could not have gone any better,” said Donald Denning, who with is wife, Mary, is the father of four young boys. “It is a testament to what Good Sam has to offer. We understood the seriousness of the situation and put our son’s fate in their hands.”

Dr. Jones credits the combined efforts of the entire Good Samaritan team with Grant’s accurate diagnosis, treatment and recovery.

With the only pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) on Suffolk County’s South Shore, Good Samaritan is uniquely positioned to provide high-level care to children with serious illnesses and traumatic injuries. Physicians with subspecialty training in pediatric surgery, anesthesiology, pulmonology and critical care were essential members of the team. In addition, the PICU at Good Samaritan is staffed by registered nurses and nurse practitioners with additional training and experience in caring for critically ill infants and children. As part of the healing team, chaplains from the hospital’s Pastoral Care Department also contribute to the healing environment.

 

“When we were told that our child had a potentially critical condition and would need major surgery, we did not give it a second thought because we knew we were in the right place and had total confidence in the expertise of the surgeon, physicians and nurses at Good Sam,” said Mrs. Denning.

For further information on pediatric services at Good Samaritan visit www.good-samaritan-hospital.org or call (631) 376-4444.

jmitty@longislandyellowpages.com

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