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Share Your Story: Personal Expression

Share Your Story: Personal Expression

by | May 26, 2023 | Pediatric Developmental Disabilities

Meet Rodrigo, a patient who is seen by our team of multidisciplinary experts. Learn more about his journey below.

Blog written by Rodrigo.

When I was a baby, my parents knew something was not right. According to my mom, I would push my hands against the wall just to stand up and move from one place to another. Also, I had problems sitting down. I would try to sit but would end up falling backward.

When I was about 1 year old, I was diagnosed with congenital muscular dystrophy and started going to see doctors at Scottish Rite for Children every six months. I have fond memories of that time in my life. I loved going there all the time and was always happy to miss school for these appointments. The inside of Scottish Rite does not look like a traditional health care institution, but rather felt like we were at a theme park.

I understood that I would eventually be too old to see doctors at a pediatric facility, and when I was about 20 years old, I had my last appointment. I cried as I was leaving that day.

Scottish Rite means so much to me, and I felt like I needed to give something back to the place that did so much for me. When I was 26 years old, I became a volunteer at Scottish Rite. Not only is it a place for children with special needs but also a place where children know that they are loved and accepted. It is also an amazing place for their parents! It is a place where families know that they are not alone and can find support.

I now have an art degree, and drawing and painting are my passions. I am very involved with the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), and 15 months ago, I became an MDA Ambassador. I’ve even been able to use my talents to give back and have donated some of my paintings to be sold at the MDA Uncork A Cure Galas. I also enjoy making videos for social media where I paint and talk about what I’m painting.

DO YOU HAVE A STORY? WE WANT TO HEAR IT! SHARE YOUR STORY WITH US.

Sports Medicine Research Featured at National Meeting

Sports Medicine Research Featured at National Meeting

by | May 24, 2023 | Research & Innovation

Several of our physicians and trainees attended the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) annual meeting recently. At this event, individuals are selected to share progress and results on projects that impact the care of athletes of all ages. Our team shared several pediatric-focused studies. Additionally, Jane S. Chung, M.D., served as faculty for a pre-conference event teaching participants how to transform a clinical question into a successful research project. Each of these activities reflects our organization’s commitment to provide the best care, continued learning and teaching through research and academic endeavors. Here are several projects our Center for Excellence in Sports Medicine research team, and trainees, extensions of our team, presented at this meeting.

AMSSM Grant-Funded Project Presented by Lead Investigator
Jane S. Chung, M.D., is conducting a study with the Movement Science Lab team to evaluate movement in pediatric ballet dancers. The larger project includes evaluating demographics, surveys and movement data to determine how ballet dancers respond to training demands of the art. The project presented at this event is titled, “Athletic identity and Injury Patterns in Pediatric Ballet Dancers,” and began to explain how ballet dancers think about their identity as an athlete and found that pediatric ballet dancers, particularly those who trained more and reported a prior history of injury strongly identify with their sport.

 

The purpose of the AMSSM Foundation Research Grant Award program is to foster original scientific investigations by members of AMSSM. Research proposals that investigate issues within the broad discipline of sports medicine will be considered, including clinical practice, injury prevention and rehabilitation, basic science, epidemiology and education. – 

Sport-Related Concussion Projects Presented by Trainees
David Mikhail, B.S., is a medical student at UT Southwestern Medical Center who presented “A Longitudinal Evaluation of Differences Between First and Second Concussion Among Pediatric Patients.” In collaboration with faculty mentor Shane M. Miller, M.D., David reviewed 31 pediatric cases in The North Texas Concussion Registry (ConTex).

A man is giving a presentation at a conference called rising to the challenge | CAMS RISING THE CHALLENGE A Longitudinal Evaluation of Differences in Presentation Between First and Second Concussions in Pediatric Patients UT Southwester SCOTTISH RITE ConTex SAMSS

Comparing variables between sport-related concussions within and between patients, the study aimed to identify the effects of a second concussion on young athletes. Findings included:

  • Pediatric patients presented similarly following first and second concussion and demonstrated similar time to return-to-play.
  • Neurocognitive abilities were not shown to be negatively impacted by a subsequent concussion.

Also representing data from the ConTex registry, Joshua A. Beitchman, M.D., M.B.S., UT Southwestern Medical School second-year resident in pediatric neurology, presented “Endophenotype presentation of athletes with concussion contingent upon sex and time since injury.” Working closely with his mentor and pediatric sports neurologist, Mathew Stokes, M.D., Dr. Beitchman, used a complex system called phenotyping to begin to explain the very difficult task of identifying treatment strategies earlier in the care of concussions. He says, “since concussed athletes experience symptoms differently based on sex and time since injury, predicting outcomes or the prognosis is challenging.” This study is making progress on these challenges in treating athletes with a concussion. A specific direction coming out of this effort is to further evaluate how mood and sleep affect recovery and learn interventions that will address these successfully in this population.

SM EDICINE Annual Meeting SAMESH Co-Authors RISING THE CHALLENGE. A man stands at a podium at an annual meeting

Pediatric Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Expert Shares Results of Novel Study
Sports medicine physician Jacob C. Jones, M.D., RMSK, presented “Increased Ultrasonographic Humeral Retrotorsion in Young Overhead Athletes with Little League Shoulder or Elbow.” This study adds to a small, but growing volume of evidence in the use of musculoskeletal ultrasound in the evaluation and research of pediatric sport-related conditions.

Comparing the shoulders of throwing athletes with and without shoulder or elbow pain with similar athletes in other overhead sports such as gymnastics, the study aimed to describe how the bone is remodeled, or changed, with a high volume of throwing. This study will aid in the understanding of growth-related, training-related and sport-related changes in the shoulder with sports that have a high volume of throwing such as baseball. In particular, studies like this will help to understand why some athletes develop pain with these activities and some do not.

Get to Know our Staff: Steve Ronde, Orthotics and Prosthetics

Get to Know our Staff: Steve Ronde, Orthotics and Prosthetics

by | May 23, 2023 | Spotlight

What is your job title/your role at Scottish Rite for Children?
My role is to provide the best orthotic and prosthetic care to children and adolescents.

What do you do on a daily basis or what sort of duties do you have at work?
I see patients from different prosthetic and orthotic clinics and make decisions, along with the physicians and other auxiliary staff members, regarding the patient’s prosthetic and orthotic care. I help choose what componentry and designs are necessary for the patient, and then I will cast and measure them for their special device, which is custom-made for them. I also interact with my prosthetic and orthotic colleagues and consult with them to create a prosthesis or orthosis that will best benefit the patient.

What was your first job? What path did you take to get here or what led you to Scottish Rite? How long have you worked here?
I worked on my dad’s farm in North Dakota, so I spent many days out in the fields on a tractor and doing different farm chores for raising crops and livestock. I really miss the outdoor part of farm life. After graduating from high school, I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and received training in the Air Force in orthotics. After the Air Force, I moved to Lubbock, Texas, and went to Texas Tech University and graduated with a degree in zoology. I then decided to continue my schooling in orthotics in Los Angeles and later went to school in Chicago for prosthetics. When I graduated from Northwestern University’s prosthetic program, I saw an ad for a position in orthotics at Scottish Rite for Children posted at the school in Chicago. I checked into the position, and at the time, there were not any openings at Scottish Rite. They told me they would keep in touch when something did become available. I worked in a prosthetic/orthotic facility in Fargo, ND, for one year before Scottish Rite contacted me about an open position in orthotics, and I accepted that position. I have now been at Scottish Rite for 37 years and presently focus on prosthetics.

What do you enjoy most about Scottish Rite?
Getting to work with patients who need prostheses from a very young age and being able to provide their continuity of care until they become adults. I also enjoy the positive feedback from both the patients and their families, and I love watching them grow up, mature and become successful in their lives as an adult. This would be the primary reason why I enjoy my work at Scottish Rite!

Tell us something about your job that others might not already know?
Many patients throughout my time at Scottish Rite have made a huge impact on my life. They go on to do amazing things, and I have appreciated being a part of their successes by helping them with their mobility.

Where is the most interesting place you’ve been?
The most interesting place I have been to is Peru, and how I went there is an interesting story! I had been providing prosthetic care to a patient named Alberto who came from Peru to be treated at Scottish Rite for Children. During his multiple appointments at Scottish Rite, I got to know his family very well and they invited me to visit them in Peru. Because I was single at the time, I accepted their invitation to visit them. It was there that I met Alberto’s Aunt Rocio and developed a friendship with her, and she eventually became my wife. On my first trip to Peru, I was able to visit Machu Picchu and also travel down the Amazon River. We went fishing on the Amazon and caught piranhas and had fried fish and piranha soup. What is so amazing about Peru are all the historical sites and culture that the country provides.

What is your favorite game or sport to watch and play?
My favorite sport to watch and play is football. Patrick Mahomes is my favorite player, and the Kansas City Chiefs is my favorite team. In high school, I played the position of middle linebacker  on defense and offensive tackle on offense.

If you could go back in time, what year would you travel to?
Anytime from 1865 to 1895 (prime years for the Wild West period.) I always wanted to be a cowboy!

What’s one fun fact about yourself?
I enjoy scuba diving and have been on a dive boat for a whole week in Belize. I also have been on dive trips to the Dominican Republic and experienced freshwater cave diving. I plan to have my daughter take scuba diving lessons so I will have a dive partner being that my wife is afraid of the water.

Orthopedic Sports Medicine Fellowship – Vacancy

Orthopedic Sports Medicine Fellowship – Vacancy

by | May 23, 2023 | Sports Medicine

The Scottish Rite for Children and UT Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW) Sports Medicine Fellowship is a new 12-month ACGME accredited fellowship program with an emphasis on pediatric sports medicine. Led by Philip L. Wilson, M.D., and Henry B. Ellis, M.D., this fellowship is an extraordinary clinical training program that allows physicians to master the skills needed to manage the full gamut of sport-related injuries in adults and pediatric patients including conditions such as osteochondritis dissecans (OCD), discoid meniscus, shoulder instability, femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) and a variety of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction options from a physeal-sparing to a traditional ACL with or without a lateral extra-articular tenodesis (LET). The fellowship will include exposure to fracture management that is common in athletes as well as osteotomies when indicated in athletes. 

The Sports Medicine program at Scottish Rite and UTSW participates in high level research as well as exposure to several multicenter study groups. The fellowship will also include experiences with quality improvement as this institution hosts a multicenter quality improvement initiative called SCORE – Sports Cohort Outcomes REgistry.

The one-year fellowship program is available to a postgraduate surgeon who has completed an orthopedic residency, but it may also be ideal for a surgeon who has just completed a fellowship who would like more exposure to pediatric sports medicine conditions and treatment. This fellowship is perfect for a PGY4 who is interested in sports medicine and may have been overlooked or gone unmatched. A PGY5 who is interested in a second fellowship is also an ideal candidate. 

Training Start: Clinical position to begin in August 2024 

Accredited Positions: 1 

How to Apply: Please send your contact information, CV and other supporting documents to orthosports.fellowship@tsrh.org. We would like to fill the position as soon as possible.

For more information about the Orthopedic Sports Medicine Fellowship, please visit the Fellowships & Graduate Programs page on our website.

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Healio Orthopedics Today: MPFL Reconstruction

Healio Orthopedics Today: MPFL Reconstruction

by | May 19, 2023 | Press Coverage, Sports Medicine

Patellar instability most commonly affects skeletally immature pediatric patients with open growth plates and medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction should be the primary treatment for first-time patellar instability in skeletally immature patients, despite historical use of the adductor sling technique.

Medical Director of Clinical Research Henry B. Ellis, M.D., recently discussed MPFL reconstruction for first-time patellar instability with Orthopedics Today. 

Watch the full segment.