The Division of Pediatric Anesthesiology, led by Dr. Dolores Njoku, provides anesthesia, acute and chronic pain management, and critical care services at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Children’s Specialty Care Center-West County, Children’s Specialty Care Center-South County, and Shriner’s Hospital for Children.
Clinical Expertise
Our expertise extends to both inpatient and ambulatory settings, with a focus on delivering exceptional care in general operating rooms at our main campus and satellite locations.
Our satellite locations, situated within and outside of St. Louis Children’s Hospital, include a specialized ambulatory procedure center primarily designed for MRI and radiology services. Pediatric satellite anesthetizing locations cover essential areas such as radiation therapy, proton therapy, interventional radiology, and cardiac catheterization suites. Additionally, we operate an off-site ambulatory surgery center, serving the Children’s Specialty Care Centers in West St. Louis County and South St. Louis County.
The division is committed to providing anesthesia for intraoperative MRI and robotic surgical procedures for children in specialized operating rooms on the main campus at Barnes Jewish Hospital. Each day, our team extends anesthesia care to a total of 28 anesthetizing locations, ensuring comprehensive coverage for the diverse needs of our patients.
In the fiscal year 2023, our team administered approximately 23,000 anesthetics, ensuring specialized care for children across diverse age groups, surgical conditions, and varying levels of severity of illness. Our expertise spans all surgical subspecialties, encompassing cardiac surgery, transplantation, and major craniofacial surgery.
In addition to our primary anesthesia services, we offer a full spectrum of diagnostic and therapeutic acute and chronic pain services. This includes expert management of postoperative pain and dedicated outpatient clinics, available three days a week.
Education
The Pediatric Anesthesiology Fellowship program is an accredited one-year program that offers both a robust clinical and educational experience. During the 12-month program, fellows spend time in various clinical areas, including general pediatric anesthesia, pediatric acute pain management and regional anesthesia, pediatric cardiac anesthesia, pediatric critical care, and ambulatory pediatric anesthesia.
Fellows will have the opportunity to take care of complex NICU patients, stabilize trauma patients, participate in fetal surgeries, and take care of children receiving organ transplants, in addition to caring for children coming in for both outpatient procedures and complex surgical operations.
The majority of our pediatric anesthesiology fellowship graduates practice in academic settings at freestanding children’s hospitals, and many stay on as faculty at our institution.
Research
At the core of our division’s commitment is a dynamic blend of research encompassing basic science, clinical outcomes, and educational exploration. To drive this initiative forward, we’ve established the Pediatric Anesthesiology Research Accelerator Development (PARADE). This collaborative group spearheads the development of processes to facilitate clinical outcomes research, thoroughly vets projects, and evaluates research initiatives undertaken by fellows.
Our Team
The 30+ anesthesiologists who practice pediatric anesthesia exclusively represent more than 15 percent of the faculty in the Department of Anesthesiology.
The Division of Pediatric Anesthesiology is fully integrated with the Department of Anesthesiology and the School of Medicine at Washington University. Many faculty members have leadership roles both within the department and institution as a whole, and many have a national presence in education, education research, and certification activities.
All faculty have completed fellowship training in pediatric anesthesiology, and many have additional certifications beyond anesthesiology, including pain management, cardiothoracic anesthesiology, pediatrics, emergency medicine, and critical care medicine.
Our division boasts a dynamic team, featuring 11 full-time CRNAs and 11 float CRNAs. Additionally, our team includes five NPs and one RN, contributing to inpatient and chronic pain management care, along with robust support for our difficult airway program.
Locations
St. Louis Children’s Hospital (SLCH)
SLCH is the only pediatric hospital in the BJC Health System and is a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center with 455 pediatric beds. It is one of the top pediatric transplant centers in the country and is consistently ranked among the best children’s hospitals in the nation. Our facilities are currently being expanded, but at present, include 15 operating suites, a 150‐bed neonatal intensive care unit, a 77‐bed PICU, and a 16‐bed bone marrow transplant unit.
Children’s Specialty Care Center at South County
With a focus solely on the unique healthcare needs of children, Children’s Specialty Care Center at South County combines compassionate expertise with cutting-edge technology, ensuring the highest standard of care for the young patients it serves. Featuring two advanced operating rooms, this outpatient facility in South St. Louis County mirrors its West County counterpart in dedication to excellence.
Children’s Specialty Care Center at West County
The Children’s Specialty Care Center at West County is a multispecialty clinic setting with full radiologic services and four operating rooms. This outpatient facility in West St. Louis County is focused exclusively on providing the very best care for young patients.
Shriner’s Hospital
The Shriner’s Hospital in St. Louis is devoted to conducting intricate orthopedic and spine procedures exclusively for children, equipped with three state-of-the-art operating rooms.
Featured News
Drobish appointed Assistant Clinical Director
Dr. Rodriguez-Restrepo appointed Director of Pediatric Regional Anesthesia
Sanofsky receives Junior Faculty Pediatric Anesthesia Research Award at AUA 2024 Annual Meeting
