Clinical Innovation and Excellence

Families travel to us from around the world because of our comprehensive access to experts in all areas of pediatric care. Below are just a few of the comprehensive programs that offer families from other countries hope and a reason to come to the U.S. for care.

Brain Disorders, Epilepsy, Neurology and Neurosurgery

The Neurological Institute’s all-inclusive program for disorders and conditions of the brain focuses on getting children the right treatment in the right timeframe—because when it comes to a child’s neurological development, time is of the essence. Our physicians listen and work closely with families to determine the proper diagnosis and most effective treatment for their child. The Institute has received the highest accreditation possible—Level IV—for its Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, which features a state-of-the-art Epilepsy Monitoring Unit and the New-Onset Seizure Clinic. The neurosurgery team performs 100 epilepsy-related procedures per year with success rates among the highest in the United States: 89 percent of surgery patients become seizure-free. We are also the only hospital in the world using a novel, highly-customized approach to treating children with dystonia using deep brain stimulation.

Cancer and Blood Diseases

The Cancer and Blood Disease Institute is the largest hematology-oncology program in the western United States. We have been continuously ranked No. 1 in California and among the top programs in the nation by U.S. News & World Report since the ratings were launched in 2008. With one of the largest clinical trials programs for children with cancer and blood disorders in the U.S., we provide patients with access to the most current and promising therapies. As a founding member of CureWorks, an international collaboration designed to accelerate the development of immunotherapy treatments for childhood cancer, we are pioneering the use of immunotherapies for children with cancer who have exhausted other curative options. Our goal is to give the patients at CHLA, as well as children with cancer and blood disorders throughout the world, the highest chance for a cure and the best possible quality of life during and after treatment. 

Clinical Trials

A clinical trial is a research study where human volunteers receive a new medical intervention—a drug, device or procedure—to test if the new intervention is safe and effective. Patients who volunteer to participate in investigational studies and clinical trials are critical to our research efforts. Thousands of children and families are involved in our patient-centered studies every year. Many of the treatments used today are based on the results of past research studies and clinical trials conducted with our patients. Our scientific and clinical experts take the best ideas from the laboratory to the bedsides of patients in the form of promising new treatments.

Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is ranked No. 7 in the United States for endocrinology and diabetes care according to the U.S. News & World Report. The Center for Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism treats nearly 2,200 patients with diabetes and approximately 4,000 patients with other endocrine disorders each year and is at the forefront of care and research in diabetes, obesity, growth, bone, metabolism and endocrinology. We are also pioneering new tools, treatments and lifestyle-changing clinical programs for these disorders and we are actively involved in regional, national and international efforts to bring about healthier lives for children and families.

Eyes and Vision

The Vision Center is an international referral center and the only program of its kind in the U.S. with full-time faculty in every pediatric ophthalmologic subspecialty. CHLA is one of only 10 hospitals nationwide approved to deliver Luxturna, a gene therapy treatment, to improve vision for patients with a specific type of blinding retinal degeneration.

Fetal and Neonatal Care

The Fetal and Neonatal Institute cares for 4,000 infants and high-risk mothers annually and is home to a Level IV neonatal intensive care unit. This distinction means that Children’s Hospital Los Angeles offers the highest possible level of care for the most critically ill preemies, newborns and infants. We are committed to helping babies with complex and often life-threatening health challenges reach their full potential. The unique care we provide can begin before a child with a complex condition is born, continue during hospitalization and last after the patient goes home. 

Heart and Cardiology

The Heart Institute is a worldwide leader in treating pediatric heart disease and lung disorders and a global patient referral center. Physicians perform over 1,000 cardiothoracic surgeries and more than 11,600 clinic visits annually. Outcomes are among the best in the country, with an emphasis on high-complexity surgeries in neonates.

Transplantation

A leader in organ transplants, CHLA has performed more than 1,714 pediatric heart, liver, intestinal and kidney procedures. The Liver Transplant Program, with more than 20 years of experience performing more than 330 liver transplants in children, is consistently rated among the top pediatric liver transplant centers in the U.S. based on volume, outcomes, and wait time to transplant. All of our solid organ transplant programs—heart, liver and kidney—maintain excellent one-year pediatric patient and graft survival rates, ranging from 96 to 100 percent, according to the January 2019 Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients. Established in 1983, our Bone Marrow Transplant Program is one of the largest, most-highly regarded pediatric programs in the world. We have performed transplants for more than 800 children, and we currently perform 45 to 55 transplants per year for infants and children with cancer and leukemia, bone marrow failure and genetic diseases including sickle cell disease, severe immune deficiencies and more.

Orthopedics, Scoliosis and Spine Conditions

The Jackie and Gene Autry Orthopedic Center provides the most comprehensive care in the western U.S. Its Children’s Spine Program is one of the largest in the nation, with 2,000 surgeries and 13,000 patients followed each year. The Center has developed innovative surgical techniques for young children with early-onset scoliosis, infantile scoliosis and other deformities in the growing spine. The Center is an all-inclusive facility that works with expert orthotists to improve braces and halos. Our physician-researchers developed the pinless halo for conditions such as torticollis and rotatory subluxation. Our Hip Preservation Program helps to delay or prevent arthritis later in life by treating disorders of the hip in children and young adults. Our goal is to help our patients develop into healthier, more active, pain-free adults.

Rehabilitation

The 22-bed Margie and Robert E. Petersen Foundation Rehabilitation Center is one of the largest acute pediatric rehabilitation centers in the country and one of just 32 in the world to earn accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities—the gold standard in rehabilitative care—for pediatric inpatient medical rehabilitation. The Center features physical and occupational therapy as well as spaces for speech therapy, recreation, private treatment, hydrotherapy and a Child Life playroom.

Robotic Surgery

Our Pediatric Robotic Surgery Program is among America’s busiest, with approximately 80 surgeries annually. Robotic surgery using the da Vinci Surgical System from Intuitive Surgical allows surgeons at CHLA to perform minimally invasive reconstructive procedures with tiny keyhole incisions through the use of 3D visualization, intuitive computer-enhanced motion control and increased range of motion. To date, we have performed more than 600 robotic surgeries on children, making the program one of the most experienced centers for pediatric robotic surgery in the U.S. The program also serves as a pediatric robotic surgery research and training center for pediatric surgical specialists.