It was only a matter of time before Chad and Debbie Glaser’s infant son Ethan – who was diagnosed with a serious liver disease at 2 months old – would need a transplant.
The target date was Ethan’s second birthday. Meanwhile, the medical staff in the gastroenterology division of Women & Children’s Hospital of Buffalo did whatever they could to increase his chances for a successful transplant, including performing 15 endoscopies to control his liver failure.
Today, Ethan is a healthy 11-year-old boy.
The case is indicative of the type of care that resulted in Tuesday’s announcement that Women & Children’s is listed among the nation’s “Best Children’s Hospitals” for its pediatric gastroenterology department, according to a U.S. News & World Report ranking in its 2012-13 special edition of Best Hospitals.
“They really helped bridge a gap in assisting getting him big enough and strong enough in hopes of getting him ready for a liver transplant,” Chad Glaser said Tuesday at a news conference as the hospital announced that it is was ranked 48th out of nearly 200 hospitals.
This is the second year in a row the hospital has made the list, which evaluated medical centers in 16 specialty areas. Last year, Women & Children’s earned the national distinction in two categories: 48th in pediatric neurology/neurosurgery and 46th in cancer care for children.
Led by the medical directors of gastroenterology – Susan Baker and her husband, Robert D. Baker – the department is an American Board of Pediatrics-recognized subspecialty and is affiliated with the Department of Pediatrics of the University at Buffalo’s School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
The staff provides evaluation and diagnosis for infants, children and adolescents with diseases involving the gastrointestinal tract, pancreas and liver, as well as nutritional support.
To be nationally ranked, a hospital must excel across a range of tough cases within a given specialty, according to the publication’s website. For example, a hospital nationally ranked in cardiology and heart surgery can be expected to have doctors with the talent and the experience to replace a faulty heart valve in patients well into their 90s. Most hospitals would decline to perform major surgery on such elderly patients because they aren’t up to speed on the special techniques involved and don’t see many such patients.
A hospital ranked in pediatric gastroenterology, such as Women & Children’s, is rated on criteria including survival rates, infection prevention, advanced technologies and the availability of subspecialists – all areas in which the Buffalo hospital scored well.
Other criteria in this category include patient volume, reputation among specialists and commitment to quality improvement.

email: dswilliams@buffnews.com