Hematology program

Located in the MACC Fund Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s Wisconsin, our pediatric hematology program offers diagnoses, consultations, second opinions, and more.  At the adjacent Northwestern Mutual Day Hospital in the MACC Fund Center, clinical services include blood products transfusions, erythrocytapheresis (red cell exchange), and administration of intravenous medications, such as iron infusions and IV immunoglobulin. In addition, our hematology program assists with ongoing medication management, genetic counseling, family support and child life services, educational programs and community outreach. To serve patients in northeast Wisconsin, there is a Hematology clinic at the Children’s Wisconsin Appleton Clinic multiples times each month staffed by one of the specialists from our Hematology program.

Because hematology patients may require multi-disciplinary care, our program works closely with other dedicated disease specialists within Children’s Wisconsin, such as blood and marrow transplant and cellular therapy, genetics, gastroenterology, immunology, rheumatology and transfusion medicine.

We also coordinate with other local physicians and care programs. We facilitate transfers to adult hematology programs as needed. For local patients, we work closely with the adult hematology program at nearby Froedtert Hospital. We can also assist with transfers and referrals for patients who don’t live in the area.

Our hematology program treats pediatric patients with general hematology disorders, bleeding and clotting disorders, sickle cell disease, thalassemia and immune dysregulation disorders. These conditions include:

• Anemias, such as iron deficiency anemia, autoimmune hemolytic anemia, hereditary hemolytic anemia, paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), pure red cell aplasia or Diamond-Blackfan anemia, transient erythroblastopenia of childhood, microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, megaloblastic anemia and sideroblastic anemia
• Bleeding disorders, including hemophilia, von Willebrand disease, platelet function defects, factor deficiencies, afibrinogenemia, hypofibrinogenemia, dysfibrinogenemia, antiplasmin deficiency, plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) deficiency and vitamin K deficiency bleeding of the newborn (VKDB)
• Blood clotting disorders, such as deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, catheter-associated thrombosis, cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, Lemierre’s disease, May-Thurner syndrome, portal vein thrombosis, renal vein thrombosis and purpura fulminans
• Hemoglobinopathies, including sickle cell disease and thalassemia
• Hemochromatosis, including iron overload due to repeated red blood cell transfusions and inherited iron overload syndromes
• Immune disorders, including immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), autoimmune hemolytic anemia, autoimmune neutropenia, Evan’s Syndrome, autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS), Evan’s syndrome, neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (NAIT), neonatal alloimmune neutropenia
• Platelet disorders, such as alpha granule defects, storage pool disorders, Glanzmann thrombasthenia, Bernard-Soulier syndrome, MYH9 defects, thrombocytopenia with absent radii (TAR), essential thrombocytosis, Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP)
• Red blood cell disorders, such as enzyme deficiencies including: G6PD deficiency, glucose phosphate isomerase deficiency, pyruvate kinase deficiency, and phosphofructokinase deficiency, and red cell membrane disorders including: hereditary spherocytosis, hereditary elliptocytosis, hereditary pyropoikilocytosis, hereditary stomatocytosis and inherited or acquired polycythemia
• Stroke, including ischemic and hemorrhagic
• Thrombophilia, including factor V Leiden, prothrombin gene variant G20210A, protein C deficiency, protein S deficiency, antithrombin deficiency and antiphospholipid antibody syndrome
• Vitamin deficiencies, such as iron deficiency, folate deficiency, vitamin B12 deficiency, pernicious anemia and vitamin K deficiency
• White blood cell disorders, including severe congenital neutropenia, Kostmann syndrome, cyclic neutropenia, chronic benign neutropenia,  Shwachman-Diamond syndrome, myelokathexis or WHIM

The clinical hematology team at Children’s Wisconsin includes:

• Melissa Azul, DO
• Brian Branchford, MD
• Amanda Brandow, DO
• Veronica H. Flood, MD
• Nicole Liberio, MD
• Lynn Malec, MD
• Rowena Punzalan, MD
• Allison Remiker, MD
• Elizabeth M Andekian, APNP
• Mary K Laus, APNP
• Hillary McCown, NP

Along with our physicians and nurse specialists, our hematology care team includes psychologists, social workers, genetic counselors and child life therapists. Our providers care for the whole child and their family by assisting with every step of their journey, from coping with a complex diagnosis to navigating health insurance to connecting with other resources. Our providers are available around the clock to handle urgent patient needs.