Influenza, commonly known 
as “the flu” is a highly contagious viral infection of the respiratory tract. It affects all age groups, although kids tend to get it more often than adults. In the United States, flu season runs from October to May, with most cases happening between late December and early March.
If your child is experiencing any of the following signs or symptoms, please call 612-813-8000 (option 3) to reschedule your appointment as soon as possible. We will not see patients who exhibit the signs and symptoms identified below.
Signs and Symptoms
Flu symptoms defined by the Minnesota Department of Health include: fever, dry cough, sore throat, headache, extreme tiredness, and body aches. These symptoms come on quickly and can be bad enough to keep you in bed for several days.
Prevention
To protect yourself and others, follow these quick tips:
- Get vaccinated.
- Avoid being around others who are sick.
- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, or cough or sneeze into your sleeve.
- Clean your hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based, waterless hand sanitizer.
- Protect infants by not exposing them to large crowds or sick family members when flu is in your community.
- Do not share drinking cups and straws.
- Frequently clean commonly touched surfaces (door knobs, refrigerator handles, phones, water faucets).
For more information, go to:
http://www.childrensmn.org/educationmaterials/parents/article/8388/influenza-flu/
Pediatric Surgical Associates is delighted to announce the addition of Katie Willihnganz-Lawson, MD to our growing pediatric urology team. Dr. Katie Willihnganz-Lawson grew up in Rochester, Minnesota. She attended medical school and completed her urology residency training at the University of Minnesota. She then completed her fellowship training in pediatric urology at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital. Dr. Willihnganz-Lawson enjoys all aspects of pediatric urology but is especially interested in genitourinary reconstruction, sex development, neurogenic bladder and congenital anomalies of the urinary tract. She is also trained in minimally invasive robotic surgery. During her training she researched surgical outcomes for patients with bladder exstrophy, vascular anomalies, and disorders of sex development. She has performed quality improvement projects and improved standardization of care and quality of life for pediatric urology patients. In both education and treatment, Dr. Willihnganz-Lawson uses a family-centered care model to engage her pediatric patients. She is excited to be returning to Minnesota and bringing her talents and skills as a physician and reconstructive surgeon to the Twin Cities!
rd attended medical school at the University of Nevada where he completed his MD and PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology. He completed his surgical training at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN in General Surgery and his Pediatric Surgery Fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. His areas of interest are Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery including minimally invasive laparoscopic and thoracoscopic surgery, neonatal congenital anomalies, congenital diaphragmatic hernia repair, childhood malignancies, thyroid and parathyroid disease, anal rectal malformation repair, and the repair of chest wall deformities such as pectus excavatum and carnatum. He will be participating with the fetal surgery team performing operative fetoscopy and will be working to help start an open fetal surgery program. He is the Director of Research at the Midwest Fetal Care Center and conducts research related to ex-vivo and in-utero cell and gene correction strategies related to inborn errors of metabolism of the liver