If you or your children are tired or cranky during the day, it’s time to make some changes. In observation of the annual Sleep Awareness Week, Jamie Travis, PhD offers some strategies parents can encourage for a good night’s sleep for the whole family. “Our environment can impact how we sleep,” said Dr. Travis, a […]
Patient Stories
Halo traction therapy and spinal fusion surgery mean more ‘airtime’ for coaster enthusiast
For 14-year-old Matt Hill the news that he needed scoliosis surgery was far from welcome. It meant the rollercoaster aficionado had to keep two feet on the ground and sit out the already short Ohio coaster season last summer. A freshman at Hoover High School in Canton, Matt has been a platinum pass holder at […]
A safer scan for patients like Bailey
Bailey Fumich’s mother has lost count of how many X-rays he’s had to have since first being seen for scoliosis nearly a decade ago. “He’s had a lot,” said Tina McKenna, noting that Bailey got X-rays about every 6 months as doctors in the Akron Children’s spine program monitored his scoliosis. Now Bailey, who underwent […]
National Breastfeeding Month: A look into the NICU
A click of the call button brings in a nurse as a mom soothes her baby as he begins to whine out of hunger. Instead of cuddling up with her baby to feed, mom watches as the nurse hangs a syringe-full of mother’s pumped breastmilk. The breastmilk, filled with antibodies and other important substances to […]
Dr. Ananth Murthy, patient Elijah Bell talk advancements in ear reconstruction
Elijah Bell was born without outer ears, but thanks to Dr. Ananth Murthy, director of pediatric plastic and reconstructive surgery and medical director for the Craniofacial Center and Speech Resonance Clinic at Akron Children’s, Elijah has ears crafted from his own rib cage cartilage. Now, 4 years later, Dr. Murthy and his team at The Rebecca D. Considine Research Institute […]
Tissue engineering: A sound solution for kids born with ear abnormalities
Hear this: Of the roughly 4 million babies born in the United States each year, an estimated 15% of them have an ear abnormality affecting the structure and appearance of part of or the entire ear, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Microtia, the most severe ear abnormality, occurs when the entire external ear […]













