Angioma Alliance Recognizes Cerebrovascular Disease Center
The Cerebrovascular Disease Center at Cincinnati Children’s has been named a Clinical Center of Excellence by Angioma Alliance, the nation's only patient advocacy nonprofit for individuals impacted by cavernous angiomas. It is just the second pediatric hospital in the United States to achieve the designation, which is awarded to clinical centers that provide high-quality, multidisciplinary care for patients with this rare disease.
The highly specialized center at Cincinnati Children’s is led by Sudhakar Vadivelu, DO, a specialized pediatric neurosurgeon, who is dually fellowship-trained in open and endovascular approaches to pediatric cerebrovascular disease. It focuses exclusively on treating children and young adults with cerebrovascular diseases, including cavernous angiomas.
“Centers that achieve this designation provide seamless, team-based, patient-focused care for patients with cavernous angioma, and demonstrate a strong commitment to clinical research,” says Vadivelu. “The COE designation is a big honor, because it recognizes our team’s dedication to our patients and their families. It also opens the door to conducting more research with other institutions to better understand cavernous angiomas and develop more effective treatments.”
Cavernous angiomas (also known as cavernous malformations or cavernomas) appear as a mulberry mass organized like a thin-walled blood vessel full of blood product in the brain or spinal cord and form abnormally, creating “caverns” filled with slow-moving blood. Some cause no symptoms, but larger ones may cause seizures, headaches and impaired speech or vision. Cavernous angioma affects about one in 600 people. Microsurgical techniques often can correct these complex conditions, ideally before serious brain injury occurs.
Patients with a cavernous angioma need care from multiple specialists to manage their condition. The Cerebrovascular Disease Center at Cincinnati Children’s was the first of its kind in the United States to establish a clinic where multiple full-time pediatric specialists see each patient during a single visit in the same place. Patients with cavernous angiomas travel from across the country to receive care from Dr. Vadivelu and his experienced team, which includes providers specializing in child neurology, neuroradiology, physical rehabilitation, stroke, sickle cell disease, pediatric cancer and genetics.
