Vall d'Hebron
ERN CRANIO full member centre.
This centre has expertise in:
The Vall d'Hebron University Hospital (HUVH) has a long tradition in the care of highly complex pathologies such as the rare diseases in this ERN, and has the necessary resources to ensure comprehensive care to the patients and their families. The area of expertise covers all craniofacial anomalies and cleft lip/palate.
The hospital is a reference center in Catalonia and Spain: The Neurosurgery Department obtained its CSUR certification for Complex Pediatric Neurosurgery in 2013. The Plastic Surgery Department obtained its CSUR certification for Microtia and Auricular Reconstruction in 2012. Both CSUR certifications have eased access to many patients coming from other Spanish Autonomous Communities, to be treated in Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron.
The Neurosurgery Department and the Maxillofacial Surgery Department at the HUVH have worked together over the years in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with craniofacial malformations. There's a new team now, the former neurosurgeon retiring in 2012 and the maxillofacial surgeon in 2014.
The Department of Plastic Surgery and Burns has worked together with the previous team of Neurosurgeons and Maxillofacial surgeons and with the current team. The cooperation is even closer since the development of ERN.
Being a referral hospital for high-level complexity pathology, HUVH has all the medical specialists involved in this ERN on call 24 hours/7 days. The childhood-adult transition occurs within the same institution. The HUVH is the only hospital in our region that can take care of the patients with these diseases from childhood to adulthood. Attention is patient centered.
Multidisciplinary treatment of all complex pathologies of the cranio-maxillofacial and ENT areas is offered.There's close collaboration between Neurosurgery, Maxillofacial surgery, ENT, Plastic surgery, Ophthalmology, Pediatric surgery, Anesthesiology, Neonatology, Pediatric and adult ICU, pediatric Pneumology, pediatric Neurology, clinical Neurophysiology, Sleep Unit, Phoniatrics and Speech therapy, Dietetics and Nutrition, Neuroradiology, Prenatal Diagnostics, and Genetics.
There are regular meetings of the clinical committees: Cleft-Lip-Palate, Craniofacial malformations, Airway, Velopharyngeal Insufficiency, 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome, Microtia and Facial palsy. The purpose of these committees is to discuss and follow each case in its different phases of diagnosis and treatment, and audit the results (auditing both clinical outcomes and results as perceived by the patients).
HUVH has also a Prenatal Diagnosis Department and Genetics Department, both leaders in their areas of expertise. Clinical Protocols are being reviewed. Didactic and informative material is being written for patients and families. Relation is being established with different Patient Associations.