blood connections between the two fetuses. Typically, our doctors perform this procedure between 16 and 26 weeks of gestation to help improve survival and neurological outcomes for identical twins with this syndrome. Recent hospital data show that in 80-90 percent of cases using the photocoagulation procedure, one twin will survive. Both twins will survive in over 50 percent of cases, and fewer than 10-20 percent of surviving twins will have brain damage. The traditional approach of amnioreduction had a lower survival rate and more neurologically impaired survivors. NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital is currently the only center in Manhattan that performs the laser photocoagulation procedure. 9 NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital is currently the only center in Manhattan that performs the laser photocoagulation procedure for TwinTwin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS). Dr. Russell Miller, Medical Director, Carmen and John Thain Center for Prenatal Pediatrics * Our NICU is part of the Vermont Oxford Network (VON), a consortium of over 800 participating NICUs around the world, which provides a benchmark for quality patient care. Infants are eligible for the Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) database if they have a birth weight from 401 to 1500 g, or a gestational age between 22 and 32 weeks and are born at the member hospital or transferred to it within 28 days of birth. ** VON NICUs with no restriction on ventilation and major surgery performed, including cardiac surgery. Comparison to Vermont Oxford Network (VON)* benchmark demonstrates excellent outcomes for inborn Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) infants during 2016. 10 NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is designated Level 4 and a New York State Regional Perinatal Center. We care for over 1,100 critically ill infants every year, with approximately 30 percent of those transferred to us after delivery at other centers, some of them the most complex cases from other Level 4 centers. We provide the highest level of neonatal care and have a full range of medical and surgical subspecialties to care for the sickest infants, including those with extreme prematurity, respiratory failure, very low birth weight/extremely low birth weight, congenital heart disease, and other complex congenital abnormalities that may require surgery. Our multidisciplinary Comfort Care Team of obstetricians and neonatologists, delivery room, post-partum and NICU nurses, social workers, and other specialists provide an individualized and compassionate plan of postnatal care to infants with life-limiting conditions. Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) Infants In 2016, our neonatologists treated over 165 very low birth weight ( 1 year < 18 years ADULTS 18 years + 2% 0% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 9% 2.8% 1.1% 1.6% 16 As one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center has one of the largest clinical research programs in the country. Our patients have access to still-emerging innovative interventions performed in few hospitals, as well as national studies that improve survival and neurological outcomes for babies. Our physicians and scientists continue to make groundbreaking contributions to newborn care with procedures and therapies for a range of challenging diseases and disorders. Breakthrough Innovations & Interventions Thanks to this 3-D heart model, cardiac surgeons at NewYork-Presbyterian Congenital Heart Center could plan an infant’s operation before stepping into the OR. • Columbia physician Virginia Apgar developed the now ubiquitous APGAR score in 1952, a simple rapid method for assessing newborn vitality immediately after birth to determine if any medical intervention is required. This method reduced infant mortality and laid the foundation for modern-day neonatology. The APGAR score is still considered the best predictor of infant health in the first month of life and is used throughout the world. • In 1984, we performed the first successful pediatric heart transplant in the United States. • We were the first hospital to introduce amniocentesis and pioneer its use in detecting