Children's Medical Center Stars in Five-Part Documentary

DALLAS, Aug. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Every day, sick children fight for life at Children's Medical Center (www.childrens.com). At their bedsides are some of the world's best surgeons, determined to do everything in their power to help them.

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Beginning Aug. 3, "Children's Med Dallas," a five-part TV documentary airing on WFAA Ch. 8, will reveal behind-the-scenes stories of life at the nation's 7th-largest pediatric hospital.

The original dramatic series will air in 30-minute segments over five weeks during primetime on Wednesdays in August, with the final show airing in September. It gives viewers an unprecedented look behind the walls of Children's Medical Center, consistently ranked one of the nation's best.

The program features emotionally compelling stories about physicians, nurses, expert caregivers and patients' families in surgical areas across the hospital, including heart, plastic and robotic surgery and a heavy focus on life-and-death organ transplants.

The documentary takes viewers into the families' personal, wrenching struggles, including those endured by the loved ones of Rylynn Riojas, a 2-year-old girl waiting for a new heart.

"We moved from Austin to Hewitt, Texas, so we could be closer to Children's while we wait for Rylynn's new heart," said the child's mother, Andrea Riojas. "The people at this hospital give us hope, and they always have a plan for how to treat Rylynn. We know the staff here will do anything for her. Every time the phone rings, we jump up and look at the number, hoping it's time. Waiting is so hard, but we know that her heart will come at the right time."

The TV series also offers a real-life look at both the professional and personal lives of six Children's Medical Center physicians, including Dr. Dev Desai, who performs kidney and liver transplants; Dr. Joseph Forbess and Dr. Kristine Guleserian, both heart surgeons; Dr. Patricio Gargollo, a urologist who performs robotic surgery; Dr. Alex Kane, a plastic surgeon; and Dr. Stephen Megison, a general surgeon and trauma surgeon. Each physician also holds a faculty position at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

The series will be featured on the hospital's Facebook page (www.facebook.com/childrensmedicalcenter), on which viewers, patients and their families can watch, comment on and discuss the show. A brief intro video for the show may be seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/ChildrensMedical

About Children's Medical Center

Children's Medical Center is a private, not-for-profit system. It's the seventh-largest pediatric healthcare provider in the country, with 559 licensed beds, two full-service campuses and 10 outpatient sites. Children's was the state's first pediatric hospital to achieve Level 1 Trauma status and is the only pediatric teaching facility in North Texas, affiliated with UT Southwestern Medical Center. For more information about Children's, please visit www.childrens.com.

SOURCE Children's Medical Center Dallas