Comprehensive Center for CDH Care

08/25/2025

We want to wish all our CDH families a Happy Back to School month! We hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable summer break. We would love to see all those smiling faces and siblings on their first day of school. The CDH team lives for these happy photos!!

07/31/2025

Several weeks ago, the CDH team was recognized at a Memorial Hermann system wide meeting for our efforts and appreciation from a CDH family. Her parents sent us a beautiful email CELEBRATING her 1st birthday and sending us kind words for their appreciation.

"We had never even heard of CDH when she was diagnosed, and from the first meeting - the entire team has been absolutely tremendous. I remember at that first meeting, going through her specific case - finding out she was considered “severe” and what potential outcomes to expect. Dr. Harting emphasized that the goal was not just survival, but to allow these CDH babies to go on to live normal lives. It was such a long and stressful day, but what I remember most is feeling such warmth and empathy from everyone involved, that everyone was on the same page and would do everything possible to help our girl, and that is what ultimately led us to choosing to relocate to receive care at CMHH. "

Thank you for trusting us with her care and we are honored to get to celebrate her 1st birthday with you!

06/27/2025

What should I do if I find out that my child has TWO major issues: CDH plus an abnormal heart?

As if CDH is not challenging enough, approximately 20% of children diagnosed with CDH will also have a significant problem with their heart. In medical terms, this is known as congenital heart disease (CHD)… yes, this acronym is very easy to confuse with CDH!

In a brand-new publication in the Annals of Surgery, the CDH study group and collaborative investigators analyzed over 9000 CDH patients, including over 2000 with concomitant anatomic heart disease. Of those with “CDH+CHD” about two thirds have "minor" anomalies such as a small hole within the chambers of the heart. Unfortunately, about one third have a "major" anatomic anomaly. The bad news is that these can be some of the most challenging CDH patients to manage and they clearly have a decreased survival. The good news is that these unique and challenging patients should now be thought of individually and their survival, if managed at an institution experienced with handling both anomalies, is better than previously thought. These very special neonates deserve a chance! These children may need a repair of their diaphragm, a repair of their heart, several runs of heart lung bypass, and they can often have a lengthy hospital stays (often over 6 months). They also are at increased risk for needing a surgical breathing tube and/or a feeding tube. For more information, see https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40391440/

There are several centers in the US who are willing to tackle this very challenging combination of anomalies. Further, many centers continue to collaborate in order to learn more about how we can better take care of all CDH patients. As an example, The Comprehensive Center for CDH Care in Houston has a special program called the “CDH plus” program, specifically designed for ultra complex diagnoses like this. If you need more information email cdh@uth.tmc.edu.

Written by: Matt & Ashley

06/11/2025

We would love to introduce you to our newest member of the team, Olivia Pipkin! She recently joined the CDH team as our specialty nurse and will help getting patients in to be seen and with scheduling imaging needed for team appointments. She is also a great resource for any CDH related questions that come up. We are so excited to have her. Get to know her below:

What is your favorite song (or movie) and why?
-Wicked! I love musicals and grew up listening to the soundtracks
What do you enjoy doing on your weekends off?
-weekends I like to cook, spend time with friends and family and exercise
What is something that few people know about you but they should?
- I have a big family and 6 nieces and nephews who I love to see as much as possible
Do have a favorite quote or saying?
-“In a world where you can be anything, be kind
Why do you like taking care of children?
-I love taking care of children because it gives me so much joy and a feeling of purpose. I love to help them learn and watch them grow into their unique personalities!

05/27/2025

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) had amazing research and discussions between pediatric surgeons at the 2025 Pediatric Surgical Association (APSA) in early May. What an wonderful time to learn new things about CDH and see old friends all over the country!

05/09/2025

Happy Nurses Week to all of our AMAZING nurses. We are so thankful for all you do for our patients and families. You are such an integral part of care for CDH children and we are very grateful for the hours of blood, sweat, and tears. Shout out a nurse in the comments!!

05/06/2025

This past Sunday we got to enjoy CDH family and friends coming together to celebrate CDH and these fighters. We had such a fun time at Hermann Park Commons with yummy good and great memory sharing. The good and the bad. Thank you for all who attended in the Houston area! Thank you to Tiny Hero: Real Hope for CDH and Bianca for hosting such a fun event for congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Let's make it even bigger next year!

04/23/2025

Dr. Harting chatted with Becca Schroeder with the The CDH Foundation on her podcast Real Talk CDH. Take a listen and feel free to share!!

On this episode we hear from Dr. Matthew Harting, renowned CDH surgeon from Childrens Memorial Hermann Hospital and the University of Texas in Houston, TX. Dr Harting shares his invaluable CDH knowledge with us and answers questions I know every single CDH parents has wrestled with. Whether you have...

04/04/2025

Last day of our ECMO series we want to highlight our amazing ECMO specialists who take care of our CDH patients. This group of specialists are highly trained in critical care and are a mixture of respiratory therapists, registered nurses, and perfusionist who have taken further training to become a ECMO specialist. They are at the bedside 24/7 while the patient is on ECMO to maintain the pump and circuit and the interaction between the patient and the circuit. They care so much for our CDH patients and we could not run a successful program without them. Let's show them some love!!

03/15/2025

Thank you Bianca and baby Noah for hosting a Houston get together! Let’s all come out and celebrate our CDH survivors and all those that we have lost. Sunday, May 4th!! Let us know if you plan to come!

Meet Team Noah! 💙 Hosted by Bianca Salinas, this event celebrates 1-year-old Tiny Hero Noah A. Garcia. If you’re nearby, you’re welcome to join and connect with others in the CDH and Tiny Hero community. Wishing Team Noah the best of luck!

Event Details:
📍 Hermann Park Commons - Astros Foundation Pavilion, Houston, TX
📅 May 4, 2025
⏰ 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Want to host a gathering near you? Today is the last day to sign up to receive marketing support from our team! https://forms.gle/uwkvH8N15TRf13eX6

02/13/2025

Day 4 of the ECMO Series:
The Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) is an international nonprofit consortium of healthcare institutions and partners that provide support through continuing education, guidelines, research, publications, and a comprehensive registry of ECMO patient data. ELSO awards "Center of Excellence Award" in ECMO to the top extracorporeal life support programs worldwide. ELSO Centers of Excellence distinguish themselves through their processes, procedures and systems that promote exceptional care in ECMO. Platinum designation is the top tier of this award.
The Comprehensive Center for CDH Care at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital is designated as a Platinum Level Center of Excellence and we are so thankful for the entire ECMO team who puts in very hard work and effort in taking care of our ECMO CDH patients and families. We will learn about ECMO specialists in the last day of the ECMO series tomorrow so stick around.

02/12/2025

Day 3 ECMO Series:
In order to provide ECMO support, an operation is undertaken to place the special cannulas into blood vessels, usually in the neck. The pump then pumps blood from the infant's body, through the oxygenator, and back to the patient. The machine does the work for the vital organs (heart and/or lungs), allowing them to recover while supporting the needs of all the other organs in the body (such as the brain, liver, intestines, etc.). For CDH patients, ECMO support may only be required for a week but may be required for a month or, on occasion, longer. Risks with ECMO include bleeding, clotting, infections, or issues with movement of the cannulae. Given these major risks, ECMO is reserved for patients who do not meet specific criteria with all other methods of support.