H. Res. 1499 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
July 28, 2010. 
Whereas Dr. Robert M. Campbell, Jr., is a pediatric ortho-
pedic surgeon affiliated for many years with the Univer-
sity of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and 
now Director of the Thoracic Insufficiency Center at The 
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; 
Whereas Dr. Campbell has devoted his career to working with 
children suffering from congenital scoliosis, fused ribs, 
small chest, and missing ribs; 
Whereas Dr. Campbell, working with other specialists, helped 
identify Thoracic Insufficiency Syndrome, which is associ-
ated with the rare conditions of congenital scoliosis, fused 
ribs, small chests, and missing ribs, and results in the in-
ability of the thorax to support normal respiration or 
lung growth which is often fatal in children; 
Whereas the life-saving medical devices often used in adult 
care of rib conditions are not designed or sized for the 
bodies of children suffering from Thoracic Insufficiency 
Syndrome or similar conditions; 
Whereas, over the years, physicians have often turned to 
adult devices, less effective treatments, more invasive 
therapies, or jury-rigging makeshift equipment to provide 
vital care for children;
•HRES 1499 EH 
Whereas doctors were often left with no effective treatment 
for these critically ill children; 
Whereas, in 1987, Dr. Robert Campbell, working together 
with the late Dr. Melvin Smith, a professor of pediatric 
general surgery at CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children’s 
Hospital, invented the Vertical Expandable Prosthetic Ti-
tanium Rib, which is easy to implant and easy to expand 
with minor outpatient surgery as the child grows; 
Whereas the first successful surgery by Drs. Campbell and 
Smith in 1989 began a long crusade to receive approval 
for the device from the Food and Drug Administration 
(FDA); however, so few children are in need of such de-
vices that study trials stretched out for well over a dec-
ade; 
Whereas, after over 14 years of advocacy by Dr. Campbell 
and Dr. Smith and in large part due to their persistence 
and devotion to children, on September 2, 2004, the 
Food and Drug Administration approved the Vertical Ex-
pandable Prosthetic Titanium Rib; 
Whereas the FDA found that the device was safe and of ben-
efit in enabling unassisted breathing and less dependence 
on ventilators, and that without treatment, children with 
the syndrome risk death from respiratory infections or in-
ability to breathe; 
Whereas, since the FDA approval, the Vertical Expandable 
Prosthetic Titanium Rib for children with conditions such 
as Thoracic Insufficiency Syndrome, Jeune syndrome, 
and other medical problems that constrict the growth of 
children’s lungs has saved the lives of hundreds of chil-
dren with no other hope for survival;
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Whereas the National Organization for Rare Disorders 
(NORD) and the Office of Orphan Products Development 
at the FDA made critical investments in Dr. Campbell’s 
technology; 
Whereas Dr. Campbell has served as an advocate for children 
with rare medical conditions across the Nation by pro-
viding many hours of volunteer service to the National 
Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) as a member 
of its Medical Advisory Committee; and 
Whereas Dr. Campbell has also served as an advocate for 
children through actions such as his March 27, 2007, tes-
timony before the United States Senate Committee on 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions entitled ‘‘Ensur-
ing Safe Medicines and Medical Devices for Children’’: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) honors Dr. Robert Campbell for his lifelong de-
votion to children’s health care; 
(2) congratulates Dr. Robert Campbell and his col-
leagues on their extraordinary achievement in pediatric 
and orthopedic innovation; and 
(3) recognizes the Vertical Expandable Prosthetic 
Titanium Rib device which has saved the lives of so
•HRES 1499 EH 
many infants and children, while giving hope to their 
families. 
Attest: 
Clerk.