Uzoma “Ben” Gbulie,

“I’ve been looking out for these babies since they were in the womb. I spent a lot of time studying intrauterine ultrasounds and MRI images even before they were born. They’re basically like family to me,” Dr. Gbulie said.

Giving Patients a Ray of Hope

In elementary school, Dr. Gbulie realized becoming a doctor was his calling. By the time Dr. Gbulie graduated from medical school, he knew surgery would be his path. He started out in General Surgery but during his second year of training discovered that he wanted to repair instead of remove.

“I have been privileged to train and become a board-certified General Surgeon, board-certified Plastic Surgeon as well as a Pediatric and Craniofacial Plastic Surgeon. Plastic surgery is very rewarding to me because it allows me to fix things and replace whatever was removed so it gives my patients a ray of hope. Filling that void in someone else’s life brings me great fulfillment.”

Finding the Right Facility for the Twins 

This is Dr. Gbulie’s astonishing third time managing a set of conjoined twins. He had already been involved in two prior separation surgeries – one in 2011 where the male twins were joined at the sacrum, and the other in 2016, where the female twins were joined at the hips/pelvis.

“A separation surgery is as complex as it gets. It’s rare to do even one of these cases in one’s career, and a privilege to be invited to take care of a third set of conjoined twins,” Dr. Gbulie said.

When the twins’ mom Amanda Arciniega was only three months pregnant, she reached out to Dr. Gbulie after her mother-in-law’s best friend mentioned she knew a surgeon who had experience with conjoined twins. Amanda and her husband, James Finley, met with him at his office. 

“We had a long talk about where and how it would be best to deliver the babies and eventually separate them," Dr. Gbulie said. "They wanted the assurance that if they stayed in the area, we had a facility where they could be separated. Being a member of the Surgery department at Cook Children’s Medical Center, I was very glad to assure them that Cook Children’s definitely has that capability.”

Expect the best and prepare for the worst 

Dr. Gbulie said it is humbling when you take care of small babies who can’t make decisions for themselves. In the world of pediatrics, it’s really a doctor, parent and patient relationship. 

“As the days became closer to the actual separation, the mother became more emotional," Dr. Gbulie said. "The family has trusted not only me, nor the entire team but also Cook Children’s Medical Center to take care of their precious babies.” 

By reviewing the surgical anatomy, imaging and operative plan enough times that it became second nature, Dr. Gbulie felt that they had reduced the chances of unanticipated surprises. He also planned the original incisions since the way they open affects the way they close. The main challenge for his part would be the complexity of the closure.

The closure could be a complex repair or possibly require a graft or tissue substitute.

“That portion would be a game-time decision depending on what we find and how the babies are doing,” Dr. Gbulie said.

Once the separation is done and closure completed, the twins will be handed over to the Neonatal ICU team. 

“Of everything I have learned from other separations, one of the most important lessons is the importance of the perioperative care," Dr. Gbulie said. "The preparation of the twins by the neonatal unit, making sure they were gaining weight, their electrolytes were normal, their respirations optimal and so forth – all of those allow them to tolerate a very long operation, followed by the hugely important post-operative care. It really does take a village.”

Dr. Gbulie’s motto for surgeries such as this one is to expect the best and plan for the worst. 

“And with God, it will go great.”

Indescribable Joy

On January 23, the day of separation, Dr. Gbulie remained focused. 

“Knowing it is my responsibility to take care of another human being, especially when it is a child, is a huge motivator and keeps me focused no matter how long the surgery takes,” Dr. Gbulie said.

He made the original incisions to be sure the skin flaps were protected for good closure. 

“Once we got into the nitty gritty parts of separating the liver and bowel, I took a step back,” Dr. Gbulie said.

For the next 2.5 hours, Dr. Gbulie took on the role of assisting the pediatric surgeons as the separation of the organs proceeded. Time seemed to stand still as he watched all the hours of meticulous planning by the team fall into place.

Following separation, the pediatric surgery team worked on the diaphragmatic and abdominal fascial repair using mesh. Then it was time for Dr. Gbulie to close JamieLynn which he performed using skin advancement flaps. When it was all done, he stated: “To be able to give this (gift of separation) to the family is an indescribable joy.”

Cautious optimism

Dr. Gbulie said high fives won’t really come until weeks from now. The separation is a major step but is the first part before the recovery truly starts. He will breathe a sigh of relief when the twins go from surviving to thriving.

“The skin is the largest organ in the body and protects our interactions with the environment," Dr. Gbulie said. "It’s really important to get them well healed and a stable wound because without that, more problems could arise such as post-operative infections.”

He feels fortunate for not only the twins’ medical team but Cook Children’s as a whole. 

“There are not many medical centers in the world that have done this procedure," Dr. Gbulie said. "I think this proves that we have a hospital system that literally has every subspecialty and the technology required to pull off something this complex. That’s an amazing achievement and I’m very grateful for that.”

When asked about his work, he stated “I love every bit of what I do, and if given the choice I would always choose to be a plastic surgeon. My training and experience have given me the opportunity to help another set of conjoined twins and I consider that a blessing.”

Background

Dr. Gbulie is a member of the Plastic Surgery Department at Cook Children’s Medical Center. Besides his elective practice, he also provides on-call coverage for facial and hand trauma and has handled many complicated cases including severe dog bite injuries to the face and scalp which require literally putting the child's face back together.

“It's amazing how fulfilling it is to make the child whole and see them smile again, especially when we're able to achieve this with minimal scarring and deformity,” Dr. Gbulie said.

“The Essential Glue”

“My wife Ndidi is an attorney, the love of my life and the essential glue that holds our family together. We're blessed with three wonderful kids – Amaka (14), Sam (11) and Obi (9). During my free time, I love watching soccer and I’m quite sure I’m the biggest Manchester United fan!”

By Ashley Antle

What has enough concrete to fill eight Olympic-sized swimming pools, ductwork that equals the weight of 32 male African Elephants and 160 miles of wiring that could circle a football field more than 600 times?

It is the newest addition to the Cook Children’s Medical Center campus, which adds 240,000 square feet and six new services to the existing Dodson Specialty Clinics building. The expansion, opening in March 2023, is designed to make visits to one of the more than 35 specialty clinics housed in what will ultimately be a fully integrated facility easier and more convenient for patients and their families.

“Our specialty clinics are experiencing increasing demand for services from a rapidly growing, diverse population,” said Veronica Tolley, vice president of Primary and Specialty Services at Cook Children's. “The Dodson Specialty Clinics expansion will accommodate this growth, while also allowing clinics to consolidate to one location which is a tremendous satisfier for our patient population.” 

Children living with a disability or disease often require ongoing care from one or more specialized physicians, like a neurologist or oncologist, for example. Juggling multiple appointments, medical equipment and other challenges that come with a chronic condition can be difficult. The Dodson expansion places vital and often overlapping specialty services under one roof, connecting the dots of care, collaboration and convenience for physicians and families.

What’s New

While adding space for clinic growth, the expansion also will support the addition of a Peaks Tech Zone, a sibling center, a cafe, a pharmacy, retail space and a maternal/fetal medicine clinic.

A cross between a technology lounge and in-person help desk, Peaks Tech Zone is a place where families can get guided, hands-on experience with devices and online applications recommended for their child’s care. It includes a self-service space and a consultation area for one-on-one assistance from a health technology advocate, or techspert, who will help Tech Zone visitors do everything from setting up their MyCookChildren’s patient portal so they can view their child’s medical chart to syncing their personal technology with medical devices and apps recommended by their child’s physician. Visitors can also learn how to utilize virtual care, telemedicine services and any new Cook Children’s innovation that helps them meet the health needs of their family.

The Sibling Support Center will take a load off of parents and give kids a safe, fun and developmentally appropriate space to spend time during their sibling’s clinic appointment.

“There are many times when parents have to bring siblings to patient appointments, and sometimes the presence of siblings ends up preventing needed clinical care from being able to happen,” said Jill Koss, director of Family Support Services. “This Sibling Support Center will allow parents to focus on their child who is a patient and, even more importantly, will allow siblings to be the focus of specific programming designed to support their emotional, psychosocial and developmental needs.”

The Sibling Support Center is generously sponsored by Panda Cares through Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals charities. It will be located on the first floor of the Dodson expansion and open to patient siblings ages 3 to 12, Monday through Friday, for up to 90 minutes per visit. Programming will include creative arts activities, play supporting growth and development, music, dramatic play, video games for older children and more.   

The new space also makes way for the Jane and John Justin Institute for Mind Health, which will put commonly overlapping specialties that treat the mental and physical diseases and disorders associated with the nervous system under one roof. Those specialties include Neurology, Neuropsychology, Neurosurgery, Pain Management, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Psychology, Psychiatry, Developmental Pediatrics and Developmental Psychology. The Justin Institute is designed to eliminate barriers to care like multiple appointments with multiple providers in multiple locations and to simplify the patient’s access to their medical team. For children and their families, it will make a day of doctor’s appointments much easier. For medical providers, it enhances their ability to coordinate care. The Justin Institute is slated to open fall 2023 in Cook Children’s Dodson Specialty Clinics building.

A new 10-level parking garage for physicians and visitors will support the facility and will be easier to navigate. No more driving around and around wondering if a space will be open from one level to the next. Using dynamic signage, an intelligent parking system will alert drivers to the number of spaces available as they approach a level of the garage, making self-parking more efficient and reliable.

“Following substantial completion and certificate of occupancy, many of our clinics who currently reside in our existing Dodson facility will begin moves to the new facility through a managed transition plan beginning in late March and continuing through 2024,” said Kim Arnold, space utilization and transition manager. “Countless thousands of children and their families will enjoy this new facility, the exciting features and benefits designed to serve them. We cannot wait to implement the transition of our clinics and services, and open the facility for our patient families.”

 highlights the region’s best physicians as chosen by their peers. Votes are tallied and sorted by the editorial staff, and the remaining votes are vetted by an anonymous panel of esteemed doctors.

Join us in congratulating the following doctors who were honored last week: 

• Lauren Akers, D.O.
• Mouhammed Alwazeer, M.D. 
• Anthony Anani, M.D.
• Kanika Bowen-Jallow, M.D.
• Amy Brenski, M.D.
• Pamela Burg, M.D. 
• Damien Campbell, D.O.
• Celina Cepeda, M.D.
• Lily Han, M.D. 
• John McClay, M.D.
• Sireesha Mutyala, M.D. 
• Sandra Peak, M.D. 
• Nicole Pitts, D.O.
• Brittney Pryor-Craig, M.D.
• John Robertson, M.D.
• Nancy Taneja, M.D.

We are so grateful for our doctors who work tirelessly every day to make a difference in the lives of patients and families.

To view the full list of 2022 Best Doctors and Pediatric Specialists.

Joann Sanders, M.D., chief quality officer, and Matthew Carroll, M.D., associate chief quality officer, credit Cook Children’s employees with top rankings in the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Children’s Hospital list for 2022-2023. Cook Children’s Health Care System ranked in six specialties, a large increase from two specialties last year. Among 284 children’s hospitals in the country, only 90 ranked in at least one of the pediatric specialties evaluated. The report, released on June 14, used clinical data to measure patient safety, infection prevention and adequacy of nurse staffing.

“For more than 100 years, Cook Children’s has been committed to providing the best quality medical care for children. The U.S. News and World Report rankings further validate the tireless dedication of our staff to fulfill our Promise,” said Rick W. Merrill, President and CEO of Cook Children’s Health Care System. “As we look toward the future, with the opening of our new hospital in Prosper, Texas, later this year, we are excited to bring our world-class pediatric care to even more children and families.” 

Dr. Sanders and Dr. Carroll said the top rankings are a testament to the people who work at the hospital and consistently deliver excellent quality care.

“Everyone in the organization has an impact on the amazing care we deliver to our patients and is part of our organization's success in U.S. News & World Report,” Dr. Carroll said. “The high-quality care that our physicians and staff provide every day not only positively impacts the lives of the patients and families we serve but is also reflected in awards such as this.”

Dr. Sanders echoed those sentiments and said the rankings are a huge accomplishment for Cook Children’s.

“It validates what we all have known – that we are a top-tier organization,” Dr. Sanders said.

The report uses clinical data to measure patient safety, infection prevention and adequacy of nurse staffing. The following six Cook Children’s specialties were named among the top programs:

• Pediatric Neurology and Neurosurgery - #29 in the nation
• Pediatric Diabetes and Endocrinology - #38 in the nation
• Pediatric Orthopedics - #41 in the nation
• Pediatric Pulmonology and Lung Surgery - #43 in the nation
• Pediatric Cardiology and Heart Surgery - #48 in the nation
• Pediatric Cancer - #50 in the nation

“The rankings are an incredibly complex process with a large amount of information gathered in two months,” Dr. Carroll said. “It was a great team effort from IT, Quality and the specialties involved.”

Raising the Bar

During the past two years, Dr. Carroll took a detailed look at the survey and partnered with each specialty to discover opportunities for improvement. 

“We didn’t do it just to check off the boxes for U.S. News & World Report,” Dr. Sanders said. “It was all about where it made sense to make changes and ultimately improve patient care.”

One improvement in Endocrinology was the development of a quality metric dashboard that shows how physicians are performing relative to peers on 10 to 15 measures. Dr. Paul Thornton shares the dashboard with the group which highlights roadblocks and successes. As a result of that project, dashboards will continue to be built for each specialty.

Scott Perry, M.D., head of Neurosciences at the Jane and John Justin Neurosciences Center, has worked at Cook Children’s for 13 years, consistently building innovative services contributing to rankings in the U.S. News & World Report. The Center is best known for its patient-centered care model focused on providing easily accessible, comprehensive care. Programs of excellence in epilepsy and movement disorders have been the foundation of their success, in addition to an active research program with multiple NIH grants. The group has grown to serve 13 locations in Texas including full-time clinics in Lubbock and Amarillo.

“We continue to expand the subspecialty neurosciences services at Cook Children’s, for example, our genetic epilepsy and movement disorders programs, offering not only the best in diagnostics and therapeutics but also several research trials offering novel therapies that otherwise would not be available to our patients,” Dr. Perry said. 

After looking at the survey analysis, Sheralyn Hartline,  formerly the RN, NICU/ECMO director and the current AVP of Nursing and Patient Care at Prosper, along with Pharmacy and IT departments at Cook Children's realized the need for a vaccine program geared toward parents who had not received their TDAP and flu shots. This is extremely important for the NICU population due to their immature immune systems.

“The database coordinator in NICU created a system to identify very low birth weight infants whose parents did not receive their TDAP vaccine,” Sheralyn said. “Pharmacy talked to parents to establish who would be eligible and after the program started, we were able to branch out and offer the flu vaccine. It has been a collaborative effort and Pharmacy keeps us afloat.”  

“The employees in these specialties have been very engaged and are the ones committed to making changes,” Dr. Carroll said. “This is part one of a long journey and we will build on this year’s successes moving forward. The next step is to complete an in-depth analysis of the survey and review it with the different medical directors, working with them to identify areas the organization can tackle together as we continue to improve our patients’ care.”

Cook Children’s Health Care System has successfully achieved six rankings in the U.S. News and World Report’s Best Children’s Hospital list for 2022-2023. This is an impressive and exciting jump from 2021 when Cook Children’s ranked nationally in two specialty categories.

The report, which was released today, uses clinical data to measure patient safety, infection prevention and adequacy of nurse staffing. Out of 284 children’s hospitals in the U.S., only 90 ranked in at least one of the 10 pediatric specialties evaluated. The following six Cook Children’s specialties were named among the top programs:

• Pediatric Neurology and Neurosurgery - #29 in the nation
• Pediatric Diabetes and Endocrinology - #38 in the nation
• Pediatric Orthopedics - #41 in the nation
• Pediatric Pulmonology and Lung Surgery - #43 in the nation
• Pediatric Cardiology and Heart Surgery - #48 in the nation
• Pediatric Cancer - #50 in the nation

“For more than 100 years, Cook Children’s has been committed to providing the best quality medical care for children. The U.S. News and World Report rankings further validate the tireless dedication of our staff to fulfill our Promise,” said Rick W. Merrill, President and CEO of Cook Children’s Health Care System. “As we look toward the future, with the opening of our new hospital in Prosper, Texas, later this year, we are excited to bring our world-class pediatric care to even more children and families.”

Out of the six specialties ranked on the Best Children’s Hospital list, all but one are currently operating at Cook Children’s Pediatric Specialties – Prosper. Neurology, endocrinology, pulmonology, cardiology and pediatric cancer services are all available for new patient appointments. 

"There are a lot of patients who need specialized care or even higher levels of care and it’s really important that in this rapidly growing community that we have that available to these families," said Dr. Hogan, pediatricitian at Cook Children's Pediatrics Prosper Trail.

Dr. Hogan is one of 24 Cook Children's pediatricians currently treating patients in this region of North Texas. She says patients like hers need a place to access specialized and emergency pediatric care without having to drive 30 minutes to an hour away from home.

"A lot families have hardships and are not able to drive that far, or take off work all the time to go to these visits, and having this inpatient hospital and specialized care right her will make it easier for all the families," Dr. Hogan explained.

Construction of Cook Children's Medical Center North is in the initial phases with plans to have a full service hospital completed in 2022. The new hospital will be located on a 23-acre site in Prosper at Windsong Parkway and Highway 380. Having started in October of last year, phase one is already underway with plans to open a primary and urgent care clinic in the fall. An outpatient surgery center and specialty clinic with imaging and lab services will open in 2020.

"I'm really excited about the hospital opening up and being able to refer my patients to specialists, right here in Prosper, and being able to send my patients to get the specialized care that they need, having higher levels of care right across town," said Dr. Hogan. "I think that is going to be really wonderful for the families here."

Currently, Cook Children’s operates eight primary care offices in and around the Town of Prosper. The expansion near Windsong Ranch marks the first time in Cook Children's 101 year history that a full-service hospital has been built outside of Fort Worth.

"Just like the Town of Prosper is family, a close knit community, so is Cook Children’s," said Dr. Hogan. "We are all here wanting your children to be healthy and do better in life and be able to get the care they need to grow up to be happy and healthy adults."

Now she prays for Tre’s caregivers to make her son all better.

Tre, who is 9 years old, has been seen by the Rehabilitation Services team at Cook Children’s since his parents adopted him as an infant. Most of those issues centered on his articulation skills. Tre’s history with Rehabilitation Services started with audiology and other physician specialists; speech therapy services began at 7 years old working on articulation skills. 

Then about 15 months ago, Sara Adams, Tre’s speech pathologist, received a call from Jennifer to say her work with him would have to go on hold indefinitely.

Tre was involved in a horrible boating accident. He sustained a head injury and was in a coma at another hospital. But the miracle for the Faulkner family occurred and within two weeks, Tre was up and walking.

After his accident, Tre returned to therapy at Cook Children's Urgent Care and Pediatric Specialties – Mansfield and worked with Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Speech Therapy to regain skills that were lost after his brain injury.

A year later, much of Tre’s care takes place at the Cook Children’s Rehabilitation Services at Mansfield. The focus is on Tre’s short-term memory loss and his severe ADHD, as a result of the injury.

“God has blessed us so much,” Jennifer said. “The Mansfield community has been with us since the beginning, I’m so thankful. I’m also thankful for the amazing care Tre has received since his injury. At Mansfield, Tre has really been helped in many ways, through his physical, occupational and speech therapy. They have helped him so much with his memory and his balance. It’s truly been miraculous.”

The rehab at Mansfield is working for Tre. Academically, Tre’s test scores are in the average range for a child his age. His mom says he’s learning and making strides every day.

And Tre’s doing very well physically. He recently received his gold belt in karate. Makes sense for a kid who has proven time and time again how tough he is.

“The progress Tre has made since his accident is truly remarkable,” Adams said. “Tre still has some struggles with his attention and memory that impact him every day. However, he continues to improve and learn how to work through these struggles. Tre’s sense of humor, determination, and supportive family are his greatest strengths. Tre is such a funny kid! He loves to tell jokes and riddles. One of his favorite jokes is: ‘Why don’t ducks tell jokes when they are flying? … They might quack up!’”

To see how far Tre’s come since his injury it’s hard not to smile at the miracle that’s occurred and the occasional duck joke.

For more information

At Cook Children's, we provide more than 60 pediatric medical and specialty clinic offices throughout Texas. Thanks to our skilled group of clinicians who support the leading-edge technology found among our specialty services, Cook Children's is the destination when it comes to taking care of your children.

Cook Children's Urgent Care and Pediatric Specialties - Mansfield is located at:

801 Matlock Road

Mansfield, TX - 76063

To make an appointment, call 817-347-8400.

Specialty services at Mansfield inlcude:

• Endocrinology and diabetes
• Gastroenterology and nutrition
• Nephrology and dialysis
• Neurosciences
• Orthopedics
• Pediatric surgery (inpatient/outpatient)
• Psychiatry and psychology
• Rehabilitation
• Urgent care