[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1499 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1499

 Honoring the achievements of Dr. Robert M. Campbell, Jr., to provide 
                 children with lifesaving medical care.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 1, 2010

  Ms. Wasserman Schultz submitted the following resolution; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Honoring the achievements of Dr. Robert M. Campbell, Jr., to provide 
                 children with lifesaving medical care.

Whereas Dr. Robert M. Campbell, Jr., is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon 
        affiliated for many years with the University of Texas Health Science 
        Center at San Antonio and now Director of the Thoracic Insufficiency 
        Center at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia;
Whereas Dr. Campbell has devoted his career to working with children suffering 
        from congenital scoliosis, fused ribs, small chest, and missing ribs;
Whereas Dr. Campbell, working with other specialists, helped identify Thoracic 
        Insufficiency Syndrome, which is associated with the rare conditions of 
        congenital scoliosis, fused ribs, small chests, and missing ribs, and 
        results in the inability of the thorax to support normal respiration or 
        lung growth which is often fatal in children;
Whereas the life-saving medical devices often used in adult care of rib 
        conditions are not designed or sized for the bodies of children 
        suffering from Thoracic Insufficiency Syndrome or similar conditions;
Whereas, over the years, physicians have often turned to adult devices, less 
        effective treatments, more invasive therapies, or jury-rigging makeshift 
        equipment to provide vital care for children;
Whereas doctors were often left with no effective treatment for these critically 
        ill children;
Whereas, in 1987, Dr. Robert Campbell, working together with the late Dr. Melvin 
        Smith, a professor of pediatric general surgery at CHRISTUS Santa Rosa 
        Children's Hospital, invented the Vertical Expandable Prosthetic 
        Titanium Rib, which is easy to implant and easy to expand with minor 
        outpatient surgery as the child grows;
Whereas the first successful surgery by Drs. Campbell and Smith in 1989 began a 
        long crusade to receive approval for the device from the Food and Drug 
        Administration (FDA); however, so few children are in need of such 
        devices that study trials stretched out for well over a decade;
Whereas, after over 14 years of advocacy by Dr. Campbell and Dr. Smith and in 
        large part due to their persistence and devotion to children, on 
        September 2, 2004, the Food and Drug Administration approved the 
        Vertical Expandable Prosthetic Titanium Rib;
Whereas the FDA found that the device was safe and of benefit in enabling 
        unassisted breathing and less dependence on ventilators, and that 
        without treatment, children with the syndrome risk death from 
        respiratory infections or inability to breathe;
Whereas, since the FDA approval, the Vertical Expandable Prosthetic Titanium Rib 
        for children with conditions such as Thoracic Insufficiency Syndrome, 
        Jeune syndrome, and other medical problems that constrict the growth of 
        children's lungs has saved the lives of hundreds of children with no 
        other hope for survival;
Whereas the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) and the Office of 
        Orphan Products Development at the FDA made critical investments in Dr. 
        Campbell's technology;
Whereas Dr. Campbell has served as an advocate for children with rare medical 
        conditions across the Nation by providing many hours of volunteer 
        service to the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) as a 
        member of its Medical Advisory Committee;
Whereas Dr. Campbell has also served as an advocate for children through actions 
        such as his March 27, 2007, testimony before the United States Senate 
        Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions entitled ``Ensuring 
        Safe Medicines and Medical Devices for Children''; and
Whereas there is a need to promote pediatric device development by providing 
        incentives to manufacturers while equipping the Food and Drug 
        Administration with the appropriate authority to monitor the safety of 
        these devices in children: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) honors Dr. Robert Campbell for his lifelong devotion to 
        children's health care;
            (2) congratulates Dr. Robert Campbell and his colleagues on 
        their extraordinary achievement in pediatric and orthopedic 
        innovation;
            (3) recognizes the Vertical Expandable Prosthetic Titanium 
        Rib device which has saved the lives of so many infants and 
        children, while giving hope to their families; and
            (4) calls on the Food and Drug Administration to continue 
        to support and incentivize other medical advances to save 
        children's lives threatened by rare disorders.
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