Many medical conditions can affect the kidney, and these conditions may initially present in a variety of ways. Very often the first indication that a child has a kidney disorder is when the primary pediatrician discovers blood or protein in the child's urine. Other times, pediatricians may become concerned about a child's elevated blood pressure or the failure of a youngster to grow normally or they see disturbances in normal bone growth. Sometimes parents may be the first to notice blood in their child's urine, unusual swelling above their child's eyes or elsewhere in their body or become concerned about discomfort or pain their child is experiencing.

However the warning signs are discovered, the staff provides complete evaluation, specialized testing and ongoing therapeutic care including family education, coordination of home health care, and the provision of kidney replacement therapies, such as dialysis and kidney transplantation for kidney failure. Our program is based at the main downtown campus of Children's Memorial Hospital and at Children's Memorial's outpatient facilities.  Furthermore, members of our division are actively engaged in research that has fostered new approaches to both diagnosis and treatment of kidney disorders.

About Children's Memorial Hospital

With 265 beds, Children's Memorial Hospital is the medical school's primary pediatric teaching institution.  It is located three miles from Northwestern's Chicago campus in the Lincoln Park area.  Founded in 1882 as a free-care hospital for critically ill children, Children's has become a referral center that attracts patients from around the world.  Begun in 1984, the Children's Memorial Research Center has evolved as the Midwest's only institution devoted exclusively to pediatric medical research, and one of only five free-standing pediatric research centers in the country.  Children's Memorial Hospital was recently ranked the 10th best hospital in the country for Pediatrics by the US New and World Report for 2006.

The nurses at Children's Memorial made us the first children's hospital in the nation to receive the prestigious Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center.  We were also the first hospital in Illinois to receive this distinction.  Out of all hospitals, not just those for children.  Then, in 2005, we were the first hospital whose nurses proved their elite status by repeating the four-year designation.  It's not surprising considering our nurses average nearly eight years of experience at Children's, that three out of four earned higher education degrees, and that they always put kids first.

Kidney Dialysis with DaVita, Inc.

DaVita is one of the largest providers of dialysis services in the United States.  The name DaVita means “he or she gives life” in Italian.  This name captures the importance and beauty of what we do everyday for our patients, their families and caregivers.  The DaVita Children’s Dialysis Center was originally part of Children's Memorial Hospital until acquired by Total Renal Care in 1998.  In June, 1999 our outpatient clinic relocated from the 4th floor of Children's Memorial Hospital (currently Stem Cell) to a free-standing building at 2611 North Halsted in Chicago.  Our staff provides chronic and acute therapies exclusively for inpatients and outpatients of Children's Memorial Hospital.  These therapies currently include: hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, CRRT and plasmapheresis.  DaVita teammates enjoy working closely with physicians in the Division of Kidney Diseases, as well as staff of Critical Care, IR, OR, 6-west and other units.

Kidney Transplantation at Children's

When you or someone in your family has kidney failure, the kidneys do not work well enough to clean the blood effectively. If the blood is not cleaned, toxins can build up, causing serious risks to the body.  Therefore, in order for you or your loved one to enjoy the best quality of life, the kidney transplant team may recommend a kidney transplant.

Our pediatric kidney transplant program reports post-transplant survival rates that rank among the world's best. Completing more than 450 kidney transplants to date, the program offers cadeveric and living donor (both open and laparoscopic) organ donations.  A multidisciplinary approach to care combines center experts with dedicated pediatric surgeons and pediatric urologists to diagnose and treat complicated structural abnormalities.  The kidney transplant team is led by surgical director Riccardo Superina, MD, and by medical director Richard A. Cohn, MD.  For more information on kidney transplantation at Children's Memorial, please email us at SiragusaTransplantWeb@childrensmemorial.org.

"Giving my daughter one of my kidneys was one of the greatest gifts I could ever give," says Cindy's mother, Mary Elsy.  Here is a mother's personal account of her daughter's kidney transplantation at Children's Memorial.

"Feeling 'great', boy thanks teacher who gave him her kidney."  Here is a Chicago Sun-Times article about a 10-year-old who had a transplantation at Children's Memorial.  Another article on the story.

Patient and Family Education

Timed Urine Collections: One of the methods we use to evaluate kidney function is to do special tests on a urine specimen that has been collected over an exact period of time. For this, we need a 24-hour urine specimen. Instructions for collecting 24-hour urine.

Questions About Nephrosis  There is perhaps no more distressing an experience for a parent and the child with nephrosis than to helplessly watch the swelling of the child's body that is the hallmark of the disease. For the young child, the sudden change in appearance is devastating to his or her self-image. The young, preschool-aged child, often just learning to talk, is most vulnerable to the emotional stresses of the illness. Nephrosis may appear to come out of the blue, without any obvious associated illness. Parents may feel that they have done something wrong, either for having allowed the child to eat the wrong food or being exposed to another child with a cold. Although the initial illness is generally brought under control by treatment, it frequently recurs. Alternating periods of health and disease extending over several years compound both the emotional and financial burden of this illness. The side effects of treatment are also distressing. Finally, there is ever-present concern that the condition could be fatal, although this is extremely rare. Eventually, most children become free of the disease. Repeatedly, certain questions are raised by parents of children with nephrosis. We have attempted to answer these questions to the extent that our current understanding of this illness enables us to do so.  Questions Parents Ask About Nephrosis.

Calendar for Nephrosis Medications: Patients with Nephrosis may find the 2006 Nephrosis Medications Calendar helpful.  It includes twelve monthly calendars that can be printed out and medication dosages can be written in for each day of the month.