Standing Up For Pediatric Radiology
From the Radiology Department Newsletter, Editor: Mary McAllister

Dr. Ulrich Willi is a man with a singular mission—to promote pediatric radiology.

During his long career—from medical school to a semester in drama school, and back to medical school, to surgery, pediatrics, neonatology, and finally, pediatric radiology—Dr. Willi’s focus has always  been on helping children who need the services of  a dedicated pediatric radiology department.

And, as head of the pediatric radiology department at the Children’s Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland, from 1991 to 2005, Dr. Willi put his energy into the promotion and advancement of pediatric radiology in his native Switzerland, and Europe.

However, establishing pediatric radiology as a specialty was a struggle, he explains, due to economic constraints, and because of the belief by many this subspecialty was a luxury, rather than a necessity that would provide the best care for the patient.

“Although there was early support from the European community, which resulted in the establishment of the European Society for Pediatric Radiology, we had to fight to be recognized as a specialty in our own right, and to get the resources we needed to have our own staffs and our own arsenal of equipment,” he says. 

Dr. Willi’s love for the field is evident when he notes that, “Pediatric radiology is a very attractive field because it deals with the patient as a whole, all modalities, and all organ systems, and includes all stages of the developing human, from fetal life to adolescence.”

At Boston Children’s Hospital from 1977 to 1980 under and then, from 2006-2008, was an attending physician at Stanford University under Dr. Richard Barth.  It was at Stanford that Dr. Willi got a call from Dr. Thierry Huisman, one of his former fellows in Zurich now heading of the Division of Pediatric Radiology at JHU. Dr. Huisman asked Dr. Willi if he would consider coming to Hopkins as an attending physician to help build up the division of pediatric radiology.

“When Dr. Huisman called, I thought this would be a wonderful opportunity to promote a cause that is dear to my heart,” Dr. Willi says.  “Institutions like Stanford and Hopkins are, in the long run, more able to support a strong pediatric radiology section, and there are added inducements for corporate support here that do not exist in Europe.  I knew that I could possibly help to create a strong division in a place where that goal is supported by the Department of Radiology framework.” 

He cites the “true interest” of Dr. Jonathan Lewin in building a strong pediatric radiology division within the department.  The result of such vision is the new Children’s Hospital at JHU set to open in early 2011, with an all-new, multimodality pediatric radiology division.  

“Our patients are ostensibly babies and young children, but the real patients are the mothers and fathers of these children,” Dr. Willi explains.  “We must interact with the parents to make the children feel comfortable, even during difficult procedures.  Yes, it takes time and patience, but it is worth it to be sure the patient is treated with the best and most up-to-date equipment.” 

He stresses that one of the most important factors in the success of a pediatric radiology practice is the ability to work with other departments and physicians.  “Interdisciplinary work is most important, and clinicians should understand that we should be patients’ consultants,” says Dr. Willi.

He shares the characteristics he believes are required of a successful pediatric radiologist: “First, you must be willing to share knowledge, interests, curiosity, and experience; second, you must have empathy; third, you must be willing to invest the time and energy; and fourth, you must be interested in clinical interaction with other clinicians.  A sense of humor is always good, and you shouldn’t have two left hands, as it were,” he explains.

For a man who was almost an actor (“there were 10,000 actors in Paris at the time and I didn’t speak French”), who “ruined” his wife’s career in acting (she later became a drama teacher in Zurich), and who “failed” at retirement, Dr. Willi has carved a remarkable career in pediatric radiology. 

Dr. Willi and his wife, Ruth, live near the Inner Harbor in Baltimore and pursue their love of theater, movies (at Stanford, Dr. Willi ran a movie club that met twice a month to view and discuss films) and art. 

“It’s nice to be in a place where you know there is a special interest in the framework of radiology, and to live in a place where the cultural perception is alive and well,” he says.