Profile

Gary A. Walco, PhD

On staff since March 2009

Children's Title: Director, Pain Medicine

Academic Title: Professor, Department of Anesthesiology; Adjunct Professor, Department of Pediatrics

Research Center: Center for Clinical and Translational Research

"Being present to help ease the pain and suffering of infants and children is an unparalleled human experience. As a clinician, I have the very special opportunity to do that one child at a time. As a researcher and advocate, I am inspired to partner with others locally, nationally, and internationally to improve the well-being of thousands to millions of children at a time."

GARY A. WALCO, PhD, ABPP is a Professor of Anesthesiology (adjunct in Pediatrics and Psychiatry) at the University of Washington School of Medicine and the Director of Pain Medicine at Seattle Children’s Hospital. He has conducted multiple studies on pain management and assessment in children and has published over 100 journal articles, book chapters, and abstracts, including a text he co-edited, Pain in Children: A Practical Guide for Primary Care.

Dr. Walco was the founder of the Special Interest Group on Pain in Infants, Children, and Adolescents for the American Pain Society and was the 2003 recipient of the Jeffrey Lawson Award for Advocacy in Children’s Pain Relief. He also received the Lee Salk Distinguished Service Award for outstanding contributions to pediatric psychology from the American Psychological Association in 2006. Dr. Walco chaired the task force responsible for the joint American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement on the assessment and management of acute pain in children, is the immediate past chair of the Pain Committee for the Children’s Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance and was on the core committee for Palliative Care in the Children’s Oncology Group. He is the president elect of the special interest group on Pain in Childhood of the International Association for the Study of Pain. Dr. Walco is an associate editor for the Clinical Journal of Pain, and currently sits on the editorial board of Pain, the Journal of Pain and the Journal of Pediatric Psychology. He was an invited member of the Neonatal Pain Research Initiative (NICHD, FDA), the Pediatric Analgesia Trials workshop (FDA), and two IMMPACT panels, one on pediatric pain and one on the transition from acute to chronic pain. Dr. Walco has served as a consultant to a number of pharmaceutical firms on analgesic trials for children, is currently a special government employee, serving on the United States Food and Drug Administration’s Anesthetic and Life Support Drugs Advisory Committee, and is the principal investigator of an international collaborative to conduct analgesic trials in children.

Recommendations

jennifer morrowkinnelon, nj08.29.11

To say Dr Walco saved our lives is an understatement. My daughter, who has CRPS, was sent to over 25 Dr's yet her constant pain in her back and both legs continued to get worse and had her bedridden and unable to attend high school. My 6 year old and i were heartbroken and i tried everything humanly possible to fix it but to no avail. She was a healthy, happy, wonderful student and athlete but was hit with such horrific pain with CRPS (RSD) that she was unable to have any quality of life...until she met Dr walco. Not only did he treat her physical condition but helped her find the emotional strength that she needed to fight this painful disease. My daughter was at the point of not believing in Dr's and only someone as brilliant and compassionate as he could bring out such strength in a girl who had all but given up on getting better. Dr walco made sure she knew he was on her side and worked as hard as she did to get her on the road to recovery. My daughter had to go through very painful physical therapy in order to have a chance at getting better yet he was able to get her to do even more than she was asked to do. It was a long road but she is living a full life. She is in her 3rd year of college and even works part time. After seeing her bedridden for almost 2 years its hard to watch her go snowboarding and many other things that worry me but to see a young lady who had no life...no friends around anymore.... no fun... live her life to the fullest is a dream come true and it is Dr. Walco that helped her work so hard to get better and to have a life that she appreciates every day. He is our hero and there are no Dr's i would recommend but him.....PS--- my daughter is going to school to become a physical therapist and hopes to help children just as she was helped by Dr Walco. If you need your child to have the best care there is then Dr. Waco is what you need. Jennifer Morrow

Recommend Dr. Gary Walco

Overview
Publications

Overview

Medical/Professional School: University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Clinical Psychology
Ohio State University, Columbus, Clinical Psychology
Clinical Interests: Assessment and management of pain in children; transitions from acute to chronic pain; holistic models of pain in children

Publications

Recommendations for the pharmacological management of neuropathic pain: an overview and literature update.
Mayo Clinic proceedings. Mayo Clinic , 2010 Mar: S3-14

Neuropathic pain in children: Special considerations.
Mayo Clinic proceedings. Mayo Clinic , 2010 Mar: S33-41

Needle pain in children: contextual factors.
Pediatrics , 2008 Nov: S125-9

Core outcome domains and measures for pediatric acute and chronic/recurrent pain clinical trials: PedIMMPACT recommendations.
The journal of pain : official journal of the American Pain Society , 2008 Sep: 771-83

Religion, spirituality, and the practice of pediatric oncology.
Journal of pediatric hematology/oncology : official journal of the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology , 2007 Nov: 733-5

Treatment of chronic pain in pediatric rheumatic disease.
Nature clinical practice. Rheumatology , 2007 Apr: 210-8

Pain in children with rheumatic diseases.
Current rheumatology reports , 2006 Dec: 480-8

Summary proceedings from the neonatal pain-control group.
Pediatrics , 2006 Mar: S9-S22

Treatment of pain in juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a survey of pediatric rheumatologists.
Arthritis and rheumatism , 2006 Feb 15: 81-5

Procedural distress in children with cancer: self-report, behavioral observations, and physiological parameters.
The Clinical journal of pain , 2005 Nov-Dec: 484-90

Analgesia and anesthesia for neonates: study design and ethical issues.
Clinical therapeutics , 2005 Jun: 814-43

Analgesia and local anesthesia during invasive procedures in the neonate.
Clinical therapeutics , 2005 Jun: 844-76

Commentary: psychologists in pediatric oncology: kudos, criticism, and courses for the future.
Journal of pediatric psychology , 2005 Jan-Feb: 115-8

Brief report: empathy and psychological adjustment in siblings of children with cancer.
Journal of pediatric psychology , 2004 Jun: 309-14

Toward an integrated model of pain over the life course.
Pain , 2004 Apr: 207-8

Clinical trials in pediatric cancer: parental perspectives on informed consent.
Journal of pediatric hematology/oncology : official journal of the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology , 2003 Oct: 787-90

Temperament and stress response in children with juvenile primary fibromyalgia syndrome.
Arthritis and rheumatism , 2003 Oct: 2923-30

Protection of children's rights to self-determination in research.
Ethics & behavior , 2003: 237-47

Primary Office

Seattle Children's

W-9824 - Anesthesia Administration
4800 Sand Point Way NE

Seattle, WA 98105

206-987-2518

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Gary A. Walco, PhD

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