Children’s National Hospital

Children’s National is a pediatric hospital in Washington, DC, with more than 300 beds. Children can also be seen at Children’s National neuroscience clinics in Fairfax, VA, and in Rockville, Annapolis, Frederick, and Fulton, MD.

Your child’s CCM care team includes brain surgeons, neurologists, seizure experts, imaging experts, and a geneticist. These experts work together to make one care plan for your child. Only a small group of neurologists with CCM experience sees CCM patients. You can also make all of your child’s appointments with one phone call.

Before surgery, the surgeons can turn your child’s brain scans into a 3D model. Families can look at the model with the care team to better understand the CCM and the surgery plan.

Children’s National also supports families outside of clinic visits. Families can call a nurse line with questions. The hospital offers printed CCM information, patient talks at some of its clinics, and stroke and brain tumor support groups. Social workers and case managers can help with things like insurance, travel, and finding a place to stay if you come from out of town.

Learn more about CCM care at Children’s National here.

Research at Children’s National looks for safer and gentler ways to treat CCM in children. The team also wants to learn which CCMs are likely to cause problems over a child’s life. The team has published 4 CCM studies in the last five years.

• Which CCMs need treatment: Researchers follow children over time with brain scans and checkups. They look at why some CCMs bleed or grow and how where a CCM sits affects symptoms like seizures, weakness, or headaches. The goal is to know which CCMs need treatment and which can be safely watched. This can help some children avoid surgery they don’t need.
• Treatment without cutting: Focused ultrasound uses strong, aimed sound waves to reach spots deep in the brain without an incision. The team has used it for other brain conditions in children. They are now studying whether it could safely treat CCMs or the nearby brain tissue that causes seizures. This work is early and is not yet a standard treatment for CCM.
• Practice before surgery: Surgeons turn a child’s MRI and CT scans into a 3D model of the brain. They can test different paths and practice the surgery before the real one. Researchers study whether this makes surgery safer and helps remove more of the CCM. They also study whether the 3D models help families understand the plan.
• Research leaders: Hasan Syed, MD; Dana Harrar, MD, PhD; and Abdullah Feroze, MD
• Clinical trials: No current active clinical trials for CCM

• Ages seen: Children and young adults (under age 25)
• Referrals: Physician referral required.
• Where you can be seen: Main hospital in Washington, DC, and neuroscience clinics in Fairfax, VA, and Rockville, Annapolis, Frederick, and Fulton, MD

• How to schedule: Call 202-476-3020. You can schedule all of your child’s CCM appointments with one call.
• Telehealth: Available.
• Nurse line: Current patients can call the nurse line with questions between visits.

• Alliance to Cure Patient Navigation
• Financial Assistance | Children’s National
• Insurance and Billing FAQs | Children’s National

• Main Hospital | Children’s National
• Directions and Parking | Children’s National
• Places to Stay and Things to Do

• Alliance to Cure Online Community
• Social work and case management services are available to CCM patients and families.
• Family Support Services at Children’s National Hospital