DALLAS, Feb. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas (PHD) announced today that a local woman delivered sextuplets at the hospital on Friday, Feb. 4, 2005, beginning at 9:20 a.m.
At least four different types of physician specialists were involved in the patient's care, along with a multidisciplinary team of the hospital staff -- which included nurses trained in critical-care obstetrics -- dieticians, physical and respiratory therapists, social workers and chaplains. Five of the babies -- three girls and two boys -- remain in the hospital's Level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The sixth baby was stillborn and hospital personnel expressed sympathy to the parents and their families for the loss of their child. The woman and her husband have chosen to remain anonymous.
Doctors delivered the babies 10-12 weeks earlier than most full-term babies -- just shy of 28 weeks, rather than 39-40 weeks. The infants' weights ranged from 1 pound, 13 ounces to 2 pounds, 7 ounces -- weights that pleased physicians. In addition, doctors considered it good news that the mother carried the babies for as long as she did.
"A pregnancy with multiples presents a level of risk that isn't there with a pregnancy of just one baby," said Dr. Felicia M. Tillman, obstetrician/gynecologist on the medical staff at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, who delivered the babies. "The increased risks include pre-term labor, hemorrhage, high blood pressure, diabetes and heart failure to name a few," she added.
"The mother was a great patient in that she was compliant, had reasonable expectations, and she and her husband made a strong couple," said Dr. Tillman. "I believe this contributed to 90 percent of the success in this pregnancy."
It takes a team
Dr. Tillman admitted her patient to PHD's high-risk obstetrical unit when she was 24 weeks pregnant at the recommendation of the mother's perinatologist -- a specialist in high-risk pregnancies. At that point, bed rest was indicated to decrease the risk of pre-term labor and to monitor her heart. On the unit, frequent visits from a cardiologist and the perinatologist were routine parts of her care, as well as were visits from the various disciplines of the team made up of hospital staff.
"We developed an extensive plan," said Della Wrightson, Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) for the (NICU) at the hospital. "The team began weekly meetings in early December, which continued until the time of delivery. The plan included drills during which we literally walked team members through their roles -- along with the necessary equipment -- to check timing, space issues, and synchronization between the labor and delivery and NICU teams," she said.
"There was a physician, nurse and respiratory therapist for each baby," said Renee Jones, CNS for Labor and Delivery at PHD. "We designed our processes around seven babies because doctors indicated there could be an 'extra' one that was not visible among the other six," she explained. "On delivery day there were more than 25 people in the patient's operating room and additional team members in a second operating room, which served as the stabilization area for the babies, before they were transported to the NICU."
"We know how to care for premature babies no matter what condition they present," said Wrightson, "but with the anticipation of this many babies at one time, we were concerned about space limitations when seven times the equipment was needed."
Plans paid off
The nurses and physicians said the drills paid off -- when everything went "like clockwork" on Feb. 4. The first baby was delivered at 9:20 a.m. and, as the babies' father said later, "I was in the recovery room showing my wife pictures of them by 10:10 a.m. It was that well orchestrated."
Sextuplets are the largest number of multiples ever delivered at PHD. There are at least five previous sets of quadruplets born at the hospital since 1985.
"Most OBs won't have this experience in the span of their careers," Dr. Tillman said. "When I came into the operating room that morning and saw seven hand-knitted caps -- one for each baby in their designated colors -- I knew this was a special place to deliver babies."
The couple expressed their appreciation for the community support and concern for their well being. The mother was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2005. According to information received from their doctors, the couple believes the babies could remain hospitalized for another 12 weeks or more.
Media calls about Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas should be directed to the Public Relations Department, at (214) 345-7025 or (214) 345-4960. The after-hours pager for media calls is (214) 759-2584. For more information on programs and services at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, visit http://www.phscare.org/ . For physician referrals, call 1-800-4-Presby (800-477-3729).
About Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas
Established in 1966, Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas has provided 39 years of service and is the flagship hospital of Presbyterian Healthcare System and a member of Texas Health Resources. PHD is recognized for excellence in its services for women and infants, cardiology, orthopedics, neuroscience, digestive/surgery, oncology and primary care. A regional referral center for North Texas and beyond, the 866-bed facility maintains approximately 3,700 employees and an active medical staff of more than 1,000 physicians.
About Texas Health Resources
Texas Health Resources is one of the largest faith-based, nonprofit health care delivery systems in the United States. The 13-hospital system is the largest in North Texas in terms of patients served and includes the Presbyterian, Harris Methodist and Arlington Memorial hospitals.
Presbyterian Hospital of DallasCONTACT: Linda Goelzer, Public Relations, +1-214-345-4960, or pager,+1-214-759-2584, or lindagoelzer@texashealth.org , for Presbyterian Hospitalof Dallas
Web site: http://www.phscare.org/