Pediatric Neurosurgeon and Medical Student Present Research at Conference in Chile

Abstract to be published discusses spine surgery on seven-day-old child

Division Chief of pediatric neurosurgery, Lawrence B. Daniels, M.D. of Hackensack Meridian K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital, and Harshal Shah, a second-year medical student at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, traveled to Viña del Mar, Chile, to present research at the 49th annual meeting of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgeons (ISPN).

Shah was the lead author of the abstract that discusses a surgical approach for performing a posterior fusion on a seven-day-old child. The child was the youngest to ever have such a procedure at K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital. The abstract will be published in the Journal of Child Neurology.

“Cervical spine injuries in pediatric trauma patients are rare with the incidence being reported about 1 percent,” said Shah. “In our case, the patient was born at 39 weeks and MRI and CT scans of the patient revealed a C5 vertebral dislocation.”

The patient underwent C 4-6 posterior cervical fusion using split iliac crest autografts and placement of a cervical plate. During the patient’s recovery, the team used a papoose — which is designed to cradle a newborn’s body securely and gently while immobilizing the head and spine. At six months post-surgery, x-rays revealed a stable cervical spine with no spinal cord injury.

“It was an honor to travel to Chile to present research that will advance the care of very young patients with spinal cord injuries,” said Dr. Daniels. “Through our affiliation with the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, we are proud to provide students such as Harshal [Shah] with the opportunity to develop strong research skills and showcase their work at prestigious international meetings. These skills will benefit Harshal’s career as well as his future patients."

Learn more about our advancements in pediatric neurology and neurosurgery.