Lurie Children’s Earns Top Honor for Treatment of Bladder Exstrophy

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago is among nine children’s hospitals in the country recognized as a premier provider of treatment for bladder and cloacal exstrophy.

This rare condition occurs when the bladder or bowel does not form properly in utero, sometimes sitting outside the body. The condition requires complex surgical reconstruction and other treatments.

Earlier this year, the Association for the Bladder Exstrophy Community named the Lurie Children’s Bladder and Cloacal Exstrophy Program to its list of Centers of Excellence, recognizing the hospital as a health system that meets the “highest standards of treatment for the rare conditions of bladder and cloacal exstrophy, including post-operative and long-term care.”

To be among the Centers of Excellence, Lurie Children’s had to meet criteria established by the association demonstrating that it meets rigorous standards for comprehensive care, delivery, professional education and patient outreach services.

Lurie Children’s Division of Urology, led by Dr. Earl Cheng, helms the hospital’s Bladder and Cloacal Exstrophy Program, offering comprehensive care and lifelong management assistance to patients with bladder and cloacal exstrophy. Dr. Cheng and Dr. Elizabeth Yerkes are codirectors of reconstructive pediatric urology at Lurie Children’s, while exstrophy team member Dr. Diana Bowen holds appointments at both Lurie Children’s and Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago to ensure care is fluid between the pediatric and adult hospital environments.

To learn more about the Lurie Children’s Bladder and Cloacal Program, click here. To learn more about the Association for Bladder Exstrophy Community, click here.