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Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery Program |
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The pediatric cardiac surgeons at the Children’s Heart Center focus solely on the surgical correction of congenital heart defects in newborns, children and adults. The surgical outcomes involving pediatric cardiac surgery procedures are among the best in the nation. The Children’s Heart Center is the only medical center in South Florida capable of providing the entire range of surgical treatment options for children & adults with congenital heart disease, including heart failure and mechanical support surgery as well as heart transplantation. The Center's surgeons routinely perform open and closed heart operations in newborns, infants, and children with any type of congenital heart defect, including surgery for end-stage heart failure and pediatric cardiac transplantation. The pediatric cardiac surgery service utilizes the most advanced technologies and provides care for children in the newly developed state-of-the-art Children’s Heart Center Unit which includes:
The team approach and interactive collaboration throughout the pre- and postoperative period have allowed for dramatically enhance the surgical outcomes of children undergoing heart surgery at Holtz Children’s Hospital. In order to determine which patients are best suited for surgical treatment, the Center's pediatric cardiac surgeons work in tandem with:
The multidisciplinary team meets at the weekly Pediatric Cardiac Catheterization Conference where Children's Heart Center physicians and community cardiologists discuss the management of children with congenital heart disease requiring heart surgery. This adheres to the Center’s philosophy that children’s treatment plans are developed best by obtaining the viewpoints of multiple experts in caring for children with congenital heart defects. Children's Heart Center pediatric cardiac surgeons and pediatric cardiologists believe strongly that complete correction of most heart defects early in life is the ideal approach. Surgical correction in the newborn or infant minimizes or avoids the detrimental effects of the heart defect in terms of its impact on the child's heart, lung, and intellectual development. From the family's perspective, early correction of the heart defect also reduces the impact of chronic illness and care on family members. Heart defects that are routinely corrected in the first few days, weeks or months of life include:
Children with single ventricle anomalies may require staged reconstruction of the heart, which occurs over a period of time. The cardiac surgeons work with patient’s primary physician and cardiologist to put together a comprehensive treatment plan for each patient. Pediatric cardiothoracic surgery team members include:
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