Collaboration leads to total resection of rare pediatric brain tumor |
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When a high-risk neuro-oncology case required highly specialized levels of care, specialists from Sanford Health and Children’s Minnesota partnered to provide the best outcome for a patient with a rare brain tumor.
After 12-year-old Amelia had a seizure in February 2024, her mom took her to the Sanford Luverne Medical Center in their hometown of Luverne, Minn., where a CT scan revealed a tumor in her brain. She was transferred to Sanford Children’s Hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D., for a right frontal craniotomy; Shawn Vuong, MD, neurosurgeon at Sanford, removed as much of the tumor as possible before reaching the middle cerebral artery, which was tightly adhered to the tumor.
A biopsy of the tumor confirmed it was a grade 2 pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma (PXA) located in the front of Amelia’s brain. Amelia then received several rounds of chemotherapy, but the remaining parts of the tumor grew, and Amelia continued to have seizures characterized by a tingling sensation in her hand and legs.
In June 2024, Catherine Nelson, DO, pediatric oncologist at Sanford Children’s Hospital, contacted Anne Bendel, MD, pediatric neuro-oncologist and research director of neuro-oncology at Children’s Minnesota, to review Amelia’s case. After a detailed review, Meysam Kebriaei, MD, medical director of neurosurgery at Children’s Minnesota, and the tumor board recommended that the neuro-oncology and neurosurgery teams at Children’s Minnesota could provide Amelia with the opportunity for the best outcome – total resection of the tumor. Among the deciding factors was the pediatric hybrid intraoperative MRI (iMRI) suite – the first pediatric neurosurgery suite of its kind in North America. It’s equipped with both moving-scanner and moving-patient MRI technology. The iMRI takes crystal-clear images at any desired point during the procedure, allowing the care team to make real-time clinical decisions and confirm the extent of tumor resection, to improve patient outcomes.
Following the second surgery performed at Children’s Minnesota, Amelia returned home a few days later and has remained seizure-free. Her three-month follow-up MRI showed no signs of residual or recurrent tumor. She continues to receive collaborative follow-up care at Sanford Health and Children’s Minnesota. Read more about her story here.
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Longitudinal study of extremely preterm infants seeks to redefine neonatal outcomes |
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Megan Paulsen, MD, neonatologist at Children’s Minnesota, recently received a research grant to redefine outcomes for extremely premature infants with the goal of improving long-term outcomes for future neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) patients. The study will establish a comprehensive database of long-term outcomes relevant to all extremely preterm infants cared for at Children’s Minnesota.
“This approach enables a more inclusive understanding of the diverse outcomes experienced by children born extremely preterm, opening new avenues for long-term neonatal outcome research, and most importantly, facilitate evidence-based improvements in care and support of children born extremely preterm here at Children’s Minnesota,” Dr. Paulsen said.
The database will incorporate a wider array of data elements than what exists currently – including functional, developmental, and health service utilization metrics – guided by input from parents, providers, and national experts. Read more about the study here.
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Children’s Minnesota’s 2024 Annual Report |
Children’s Minnesota celebrated 100 years of caring exclusively for kids. We recently released our 2024 annual report which highlights many accomplishments from this momentous year. For example, in 2024, Children’s Minnesota:
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Combined expert pediatric care with innovative technology to treat more than 165,000 children, making Children’s Minnesota one of the largest and best independent pediatric health systems in the country.
- Put kids first with our compassionate, child-designed “wrap-around” services, which served kids with 22,806 encounters that included art, play and music therapy.
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Championed kids’ needs at the state legislature and partnered with communities to address health disparities, so all kids have excellent care.
- Performed 24,768 surgical procedures and had 86,504 emergency department visits.
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Was named one of the nation’s best children’s hospitals for oncology and hematology by Newsweek magazine.
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Read the full 2024 annual report here.
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Upcoming education events: Legacy Lecture Series |
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The Legacy Lecture Series is a curated series of lectures made possible by the generous funding of donors. Everyone is welcome to attend, including Children’s Minnesota employees, professional staff members, community providers and community members. All lectures in the series are accredited. The full accreditation statement is on the event registration page.
Mark your calendars:
July 22: Children's Respiratory Care and Critical Care Specialists, P.A. Lecture: Liberating the Critically Ill Child Together: Illness Doesn’t Mean Stillness!
August 12: Richard Stafford, MD and Bob Telander, MD Exceptional Care Lecture: Celiac disease and gluten related disorders, what’s new?
September 9: K. Bruce Fehr, MD Memorial Lecture: Clear! Resuscitating the Culture of Failure in the Resus Bay
Lectures will take place from noon – 1 p.m. at the Children’s Minnesota Minneapolis Education Center. Lunch will be provided.
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Share the knowledge
If you find this newsletter valuable, we invite you to send this email to your colleagues so that they can learn about what's happening at Children's Minnesota. If this email was forwarded to you, we encourage you to sign up for the Children's Minnesota Clinician Digest.
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| Talking Pediatrics podcast
Join us as we bring intriguing stories and relevant pediatric health care information and partner with you in the care of your patients.
Listen to previously recorded Talking Pediatrics: A question of Ethics: Ethics of Interacting with ICE
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Hear from a kid expert
Health care organizations and other allied health professionals can hear directly from Children’s Minnesota’s physicians and other providers about the latest in pediatric research, clinical procedures and innovations, and more through our Kid Experts On Demand program. To get started, submit a request.
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Children's Minnesota Physician Access |
24/7 access to referrals, consults and admissions.
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