December 20, 2025

Leading the CHARGE

In addition to leading the Hospital’s Cochlear Implant Program, Daniela Carvalho, MD, directs the Center for CHARGE Syndrome at Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego. CHARGE Syndrome (CS) is a complex genetic condition that causes a pattern of birth defects, medical problems and developmental issues. The acronym refers to its defining characteristics: colobomas (anomalies in the…

Otolaryngology
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December 18, 2025

Cochlear Implants Get Smart: Next-gen tech at Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego helps kids hear

For children with cochlear implants, an upgrade usually means another surgery. But advanced technology could offer a nonsurgical way to update the device. Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego recently became the first to place a next-generation “smart” cochlear implant system in a pediatric patient. The device can be updated, saves important settings and manages power…

Otolaryngology
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December 14, 2025

Mission Possible: A Little Boy, a Big Team, and the Power of Hope

Elliot’s Story Elliot is a fighter. Diagnosed with achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism, at 32 weeks in utero, tiny Elliot faced huge challenges before he was even born. With concerns about his chest size and the complications it could cause, Elliot’s family sought the expertise of several children’s hospitals across the country—from Philadelphia…

Pulmonology
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January 10, 2024

Music To His Ears – Hayden’s Story

A Star is Born With the Help of Cochlear Implants Before Hayden Chen was born, his father, Chi- Yuan Chen, the principal viola of the San Diego Symphony, made sure his son was surrounded by music. Chi-Yuan dreamed of passing down to his firstborn the family’s passion for music, so it came as quite a…

Otolaryngology
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September 4, 2023

When Medicine is a Mystery

Mina Longo is a soft-spoken 13-year-old who loves to read horror novels, listen to heavy metal music and is learning to play the guitar. She sounds like many girls in middle school, worrying about things like making time for friends and if she might finally get a new Google Pixel. You would never know it…

Aerodigestive
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August 3, 2023

Catching a Breath – Jazz’s Journey to Health

Two-year-old, Jazz Antes, can now enjoy a simple activity that was off-limits to him for so long: bubble baths. Taking a bath can be something we take for granted, but for parents Lydisha and James, it was a huge milestone for their son. “We wanted Jazz to experience some of the wonderful things about childhood,…

Aerodigestive
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June 21, 2023

Super Sage: From surgery to skateboarding, Sage Blake won’t let anything slow him down

When 5-year-old Sage Blake walked into his first day of transitional kindergarten last fall, his mother, Kimberly, was there alongside other teary-eyed parents waving goodbye to their kids as they embarked on a new chapter. However, unlike a lot of the other moms who were sad to see their babies growing up, Kimberly was crying…

Otolaryngology
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