Trauma and burn care

Pediatric trauma remains the number one health care problem of children in America. In fact, pediatric trauma deaths exceed the next most common cause of childhood fatalities by four times.

Children's Memorial Hospital is a City of Chicago-designated level one pediatric trauma center, which means that the hospital is staffed and equipped to handle the most severely injured children. Approximately 800 trauma victims are seen at the hospital each year; half are admitted to the hospital. Pediatric general surgeons direct the trauma service and provide care via the immediate response team. They admit the children to the hospital, with few exceptions, on the pediatric surgery service for the first 24 to 48 hours of care.

Because trauma can involve a host of body parts and organ systems, the trauma team draws on the expertise of all the hospital's specialists. The services of orthopaedic surgery, neurosurgery, and intensive care are those services most often used in concert with pediatric surgery for multiple-trauma victims. All are available for care and consultation. However, pediatric surgeons, as the initial providers of injury care, often take the lead in arranging care conferences or consultations for children admitted for trauma to Children's Memorial Hospital.