About the Center for Thoracic Insufficiency Syndrome
The Wyss/Campbell Center for Thoracic Insufficiency Syndrome (CTIS) at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is the first program in the nation devoted solely to treating children, teens and young adults with thoracic insufficiency syndrome (TIS), a complex spine and chest wall condition that affects normal breathing and lung growth.
Patients who choose our center have access to complete, multidisciplinary care. We evaluate hundreds of children and teens from around the world. Our center is the only center of its kind that uses a multidisciplinary approach to care by consulting with pulmonologists, general surgeons, cardiologists, neurosurgeons and other specialists, as needed.
From evaluation and treatment planning through long-term follow-up care into adulthood, our team uses the latest technologies and surgical techniques to develop individualized treatment plans for each patient. Care may include implanting growing rods, magnetic growing rods or VEPTRs – surgical devices that correct the spinal deformity, expand the child’s rib cage and promote lung growth.
Today, the team is led by Patrick J. Cahill, MD. A CHOP orthopedic surgeon, the late Robert M. Campbell Jr., MD, invented the vertical expandable prosthetic titanium rib (VEPTR), which is still the only FDA-approved device to treat TIS. VEPTR surgery has revolutionized the care of children with spine disorders and restricted lung growth. Our center is one of only a few institutions in the world to offer this revolutionary treatment. We perform more than 200 VEPTR and other growth-sparing procedures each year.
Our team collaborates closely with cardiothoracic surgeons, hematology specialists, neuroradiologists, interventional pulmonologists and genetic counselors throughout the Hospital.
Today, we can offer children, teens and young adults with thoracic insufficiency syndrome something unheard of 25 years ago — a future. Even after our patients have reached skeletal maturity, and “graduated” from our program, we continue to be a resource for them and their families. Outpatient and inpatient care are available at CHOP for any patient – no matter the age – with a diagnosis of TIS.
Our Center for Thoracic Insufficiency Syndrome was named a Frontier Program by CHOP. Frontier Programs are unique, cutting-edge programs that will forge important new discoveries, deliver novel therapies, and help even more children thrive.