The Children's Hospital of San Antonio
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care
As an American Academy of Pediatrics accredited Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, we provide the highest level of specialized care for infants born prematurely or with medical conditions requiring specialized care and sometimes surgery. Our team of board-certified neonatologists are among the most experienced in the region. We provide 24-hour physician coverage with at least one neonatologist and one neonatal nurse practitioner in-house at all times.
We are the only Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Texas to earn the Gold-Level Beacon Award for nursing excellence from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN).
Conditions We Treat
Our 60-bed unit is equipped to care for babies born with serious conditions including:
- Extreme prematurity (as early as 22 weeks gestation)
- Abdominal wall defects: gastroschisis and omphalocele
- Birth asphyxia
- Bronchopulmonary dysplasia
- Complex congenital heart disease
- Complex genetic disorders
- Congenital diaphragmatic hernia
- Hydrocephalus
- Intestinal atresia
- Kidney and urinary birth defects
- Micrognathia (Robin Sequence)
- Myelomeningocele and other birth defects of the brain and spine
- Necrotizing enterocolitis
- Neonatal seizures and strokes
- Open neural tube defects
- Tracheoesophageal fistula
And many other complex conditions
Conditions We Treat
Our 60-bed unit is equipped to care for babies born with serious conditions including:
- Extreme prematurity (as early as 22 weeks gestation)
- Abdominal wall defects: gastroschisis and omphalocele
- Birth asphyxia
- Bronchopulmonary dysplasia
- Complex congenital heart disease
- Complex genetic disorders
- Congenital diaphragmatic hernia
- Hydrocephalus
- Intestinal atresia
- Kidney and urinary birth defects
- Micrognathia (Robin Sequence)
- Myelomeningocele and other birth defects of the brain and spine
- Necrotizing enterocolitis
- Neonatal seizures and strokes
- Open neural tube defects
- Tracheoesophageal fistula
And many other complex conditions
Services We Provide
We provide a comprehensive approach to caring for each infant with a full complement of physicians available in the following subspecialties:
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
ECMO is a method of life support that allows a newborn’s heart or lungs time to heal. ECMO takes over the function of the heart or lungs by providing oxygenated blood and removing the de-oxygenated blood and carbon dioxide from the newborn’s body. While on ECMO, newborns are closely monitored by an ECMO physician, ECMO specialist and specially trained nurse. Established in 1989, The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio’s ECMO program is the most active and experienced center of its kind in South Texas. The Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) certified our program as a Gold Level Center of Excellence.
High-Frequency Ventilation
High-Frequency Ventilation
High-frequency ventilation (high frequency jet ventilation and high frequency oscillator) is form of more gentle breathing support using small and rapid puffs of air into the newborn’s lungs. The treatment is used instead of a conventional ventilator when higher pressure is needed to ventilate a newborn’s fragile lungs.
Therapeutic Hypothermia (Whole Body Cooling)
Therapeutic Hypothermia (Whole Body Cooling)
We provide whole body cooling for infants with severe asphyxia. After birth, some infants show signs of reduced oxygen or blood flow to the brain. Whole body cooling lowers an infant’s body temperature slowly and safely to 92 degrees Fahrenheit for about three days. This treatment can help limit brain damage by slowing the brain’s metabolism. During neonatal cooling, the baby will lie on a water-filled cooling blanket with electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring of the baby’s brainwave activity.
Inhaled Nitric Oxide Treatment (iNO)
Inhaled Nitric Oxide Treatment (iNO)
Inhaled nitric oxide is a therapy used to treat high blood pressure in the lungs of neonates (pulmonary hypertension). Nitric oxide is inhaled into the baby’s lungs through a breathing tube. This helps the blood vessels in the lung relax and widen, reducing blood pressure in the lungs.