Tag Archives: children

Child health, Doctors, Healthcare, Hospitals, Medical Tourism, Surgeons, Surgery

More Parents Travelling For Child Surgery

Traveling out of state or country for medical treatment, commonly referred to as medical tourism, is now catching on with parents seeking specialized surgeries for their children. 

In the last few years, parents f r o m around the world have flocked to the United States for specialized pediatric surgeries. And American parents have sought help in countries with nationalized healthcare or more affordable surgeries, such as India. But as with all surgical procedures and practices, experts are advising caution. 

Dr. Armen Ketchedjian, author of the book Will It Hurt? A Parent’s Practical Guide to Children’s Surgery, says that any parent looking for the best care for their child should place quality first, and that any decision made about surgery should be done with the advice and counsel of the child’s pediatrician. 

“Selecting a surgeon for a child can be a difficult process for parents,” says Dr. Ketch, as the author is known to his patients. “It’s a frightening thing to be told that your child needs surgery, and parents are sometimes slow to trust doctors to operate. So caution is a natural and advisable strategy.”

Hospitals like Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, have adapted to the trend and deal with families f r o m around the world—200 f r o m Italy alone—who travel there to take advantage of the hospital’s specialized surgeries to restore vision in premature babies. 

For American parents, the journey often leads them to areas with American-trained doctors working for lower wages. “Unfortunately, the healthcare companies sometimes insist on very strict criteria for approving a surgery,” says Dr. Ketch. “It has changed the way pediatric surgeons practice medicine.”

Dr. Ketch hopes that his book will contribute to better parent education about pediatric surgery in general and recommends that parents who are considering traveling to see specialists keep the following guidelines in mind:

* Look for a surgeon who has training in the kind of surgery your child needs

* Find out in advance what type of facility your child will have to be in for the procedure

* If you have a choice between a medical center that specializes in pediatrics and one that does not, choose the one that specializes in pediatrics

* Look for a surgeon who has extensive experience

These tips and more are part of Dr. Ketch’s efforts to give parents some insight into the world of pediatric surgery. He says hopes that more parents will take advantage of resources like his to learn about their options before making a final decision about where to take their child for surgery. 

Will It Hurt? helps educate parents about pediatric surgery. It is an easy-to-read resource that will give parents, children and families the help and reassurance they need to make surgical experiences as stress-free as possible.

Listed in The Guide to America’s Top Anesthesiologists by the Consumer Research Council of America, Dr. Ketch trained at Cornell Medical Center, with a fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and a pain management elective at Boston Children’s Hospital. He has also worked to help develop new techniques in ambulatory anesthesia, taught medical students and residents, and cared for more than 10,000 patients.

Dr. Ketch is also the author of the children’s book Golden Apples (winner of the 2008 Reviewer’s Choice Award), a beautifully illustrated book that aims to help educate children about the dangers of drug abuse. 

For more information, contact the author directly at support@dr.ketch.com.

WARREN ENTERPRISES, LLC and author Dr. Armen G. Ketchedjian chose Arbor Books, Inc. (www.ArborBooks.com) to design and promote Will It Hurt? A Parent’s Practical Guide to Children’s Surgery. Arbor Books is an internationally renowned, full-service book design, ghostwriting and marketing firm. 

(Will It Hurt? A Parent’s Practical Guide to Children’s Surgery by Dr. Ketch; ISBN: 0-9815373-0-8; $14.95; 172 pages; 5½” x 8 ½”; softcover with illustrations; WARREN ENTERPRISES, LLC).

Via EPR Network
More Healthcare press releases

Alternative medicine, Child health, Consultations, Healthcare, Healthcare Professionals, Medicine, Society, Surgeons, Surgery

A Parent’s Practical Guide to Children’s Surgery

Nearly 5 million children underwent surgery in the United States in 2008 and according to one prominent anesthesiologist, many of those surgeries were made more difficult by parents who refused to follow their doctor’s orders. Dr. Armen Ketchedjian, author of the book Will It Hurt? A Parent’s Practical Guide to Children’s Surgery, says that parents often ignore doctors’ directions and requests for pre-surgery testing and preparation.

Considering the stakes, the reasons parents give for not complying with their doctor often seem, well, unreasonable: Scheduled tests may interfere with family vacation plans or because parents, in their own opinion, feel that the requested tests or diets aren’t important.

“I’ve seen parents who felt that the rules didn’t apply to them,” says Dr. Ketch, as he is known to his patients. “They assume that doctor’s will understand if certain tests are not done or if certain consultations are missed.”

Missed appointments and tests cause unnecessary delays in the preparation for surgery according to Dr. Ketch, who says that medical professionals order the tests for a reason.

“We in the medical profession are held to a higher standard and so we can’t take anything for granted,” says Dr. Ketch. “We need the fullest cooperation of parents to provide the best care possible.”

Will it Hurt? is a guide for parents whose children need surgery and a big part of the book’s message is the importance of the preparations that contribute to a successful surgery. Dr. Ketch says he believes that informed parents make the experience easy for everyone, including their child. And that can pay big dividends after the surgery.

According to Dr. Ketch, “Children who are less anxious need less anesthesia during surgery and less recovery time after the surgery. Parents can ensure their children are more relaxed by being informed and by not putting any undue stress on the process.”

Will It Hurt? helps educate parents about pediatric surgery. It is an easy to-read resource will give you, your child and your family the help and reassurance you need to make the surgical experience as stress-free as possible.

Listed in The Guide to America’s Top Anesthesiologists by the Consumer Research Council of America, Dr. Ketch trained at Cornell Medical Center, with a fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and a pain management elective at Boston Children’s Hospital. He has also worked to help develop new techniques in ambulatory anesthesia, taught medical students and residents, and cared for more than 10,000 patients.

Dr. Ketch is also the author of the children’s book Golden Apples (winner of the 2008 Reviewer’s Choice Award), a beautifully illustrated book that aims to help educate children about the dangers of drug abuse.

For more information, contact the author directly at support@dr.ketch.com.

WARREN ENTERPRISES, LLC and author Dr. Armen G. Ketchedjian chose Arbor Books, Inc. (www.ArborBooks.com) to design and promote Will It Hurt? Parent’s Practical Guide to Children’s Surgery. Arbor Books is an internationally renowned, full-service book design, ghostwriting and marketing firm. (Will It Hurt? Parent’s Practical Guide to Children’s Surgery by Dr. Ketch; ISBN: 0-9815373-0-8; $14.95; 172 pages; 5½” x 8 ½”; soft cover book with illustrations; WARREN ENTERPRISES, LLC)

 

Via EPR Network
More Healthcare press releases

Healthcare, Pediatrics, Physicians, Society, Surgery

Dr. Ketch’s Book Covers Important Topics For Parents Whose Children Need Surgery

A recent study of more than 11,000 children published in the journal Pediatrics found that door hinges and frames represent the greatest danger to small children in the form of hand and finger injuries.

The results of these injuries can lead to surgery, and one prominent anesthesiologist is paving the way in helping parents understand what that means for their kids.

Dr. Armen Ketchedjian, author of the book Will It Hurt? A Parent’s Practical Guide to Children’s Surgery, says that the injuries children sustain can often only be repaired through surgery, and that parents should prepare for that possibility.

Most of these injuries occur when doors close on a child’s fingers, a problem made worse in countries without legislation mandating safer door systems designed to help kids stay safe. 

“When you hear that your child must have surgery it can be a terrifying experience” saysDr. Ketch, as he is known to his patients. “It’s not easy to accept that your child needs an operation, but once you know that he or she does, it’s imperative that you help prepare your child as best you can.”

Will It Hurt? is Dr. Ketch’s way of furthering parent education in the days and hours surrounding child surgeries that result not only from injuries such as those caused by door frames and hinges, but also from developmental problems, childhood diseases and birth defects. 

“It has been shown that children have an easier time with surgery and recovery when they are less anxious, and a great way to help that happen is to have the parents be less anxious,” says Dr. Ketch.“That often means educating them so that their fears are alleviated at least a little bit.” 

Dr. Ketch’s book covers important topics for parents whose children need surgery, including:

• What to do the day of the surgery
• What to do if their child needs to stay overnight
• How to choose a surgeon
• What questions to ask of the child’s doctors
• What to expect as the child recovers from surgery

Will It Hurt? helps educate parents about pediatric surgery. It is an easy-to-read resource that will give parents, their child and their families the help and reassurance they need to make any surgical experience as stress-free as possible.

Listed in The Guide to America’s Top Anesthesiologists by the Consumer Research Council of America, Dr. Ketch trained at Cornell Medical Center, with a fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and a pain management elective at Boston Children’s Hospital. He has worked to help develop new techniques in ambulatory anesthesia, taught medical students and residents, and cared for more than 10,000 patients.

Dr. Ketch is also the author of the children’s book Golden Apples (winner of the 2008 Reviewer’s Choice Award), a beautifully illustrated book that aims to help educate children about the dangers of drug abuse. 

For more information, contact the author directly at support@dr.ketch.com.

(Will It Hurt? A Parent’s Practical Guide to Children’s Surgery by Dr. Ketch; ISBN: 0-9815373-0-8; $14.95; 172 pages; 5½” x 8 ½”; softcover with illustrations; WARREN ENTERPRISES, LLC)

Via EPR Network
More Healthcare press releases