Surgical Critical Care Program
Surgical Critical Care Program
Children with traumatic injuries, life-threatening illness, or requiring a high level of care following major surgery demand specialized care from a team of experts skilled in caring for children in an unstable critical condition. The Pediatric Surgical Critical Care Program at University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital is one of the nation’s only surgical critical care programs led by a dedicated pediatric surgery team.
Our multi-disciplinary team of doctors, nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, dieticians, social workers, and respiratory therapists/physical and occupational therapists conduct daily rounds together with families to establish a detailed plan of care for each child. We routinely collaborate with pediatric subspecialties that can only be found at a quaternary center while ensuring family members are at the center of discussions and decisions about their child’s care.
Our Approach
Our state-of-the-art intensive care units are equipped with the most advanced intensive care technologies available, including conventional and high frequency ventilation, continuous reno-renal therapy (CRRT) and peritoneal dialysis, and brain cooling technology for birth asphyxia and post-cardiac arrest therapies. Our team of specialists also administers one of the largest pediatric ECMO programs in the U.S.
Expert team, focused on you
Families can be confident knowing that our critical care program is staffed by dedicated pediatric subspecialists on site around the clock to care for critically ill infants, children and adolescents.
Our team of critical-care nurses are specially trained and experienced in caring for critically ill children. These nurses play an integral role in the child's care, working side-by-side with the physician team to develop and implement the child's plan of treatment.
Compassionate, family-centered care
When a child is in an unstable condition, the entire family is affected. The team at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital team recognizes how difficult this type of hospitalization can be for a family, and we are committed to offering family-centered care that gives parents an active, meaningful role in their child’s care.
Parents are invited to spend as much time as possible with their child, and each room features a sleep space as well as a reclining chair. In addition, our unique in-hospital Ronald McDonald House offers short term accommodations for families of our most critically ill children, many of whom were not expecting to have their child admitted and need a place to stay while they make plans and work with the medical team to learn about their child’s condition and treatment plan.
Families have full access to child life therapists, social workers, chaplains, palliative care specialists and psychiatrists.
Who We Treat
Our expert critical care program covers a broad class of critically ill children spanning all medical disciplines. The conditions we treat are broad and we have expertise in every facet of pediatric surgical care.
- Congenital diaphragmatic hernia and congenital pulmonary airway malformation (CPAM)
- Tracheoesophageal fistula and esophageal atresia
- Anorectal malformations including cloacal anomalies, imperforate anus and Hirschsprung disease
- Intestinal atresia (duodenal, jejuno-ileal, and colonic)
- Abdominal wall defects including gastroschisis and omphalocele
- Necrotizing enterocolitis
- Pediatric trauma (including Brain, Spine, Thoracic, Abdominal and Orthopedic)
- Sepsis and multi-organ system failure
