Cardiothoracic Surgery Services
Excellent surgery is the cornerstone of treatment for most infants, children and adolescents with serious heart disease. The cardiac surgeons at the Nemours Cardiac Center have the training and the talent required to provide first-rate surgical care to our patients. Remarkable progress has occurred in the surgical management of heart disease in the young, and our surgeons are contributing to current advances. Now, virtually all patients with structural heart disease, even the most complicated, can be helped with reconstructive surgery.
Early diagnosis and repair of a child's heart defect avoids years of often damaging abnormal circulation and allows the heart a normal workload as quickly as possible. Heart surgery is undertaken to repair and reorganize abnormal cardiac structures so the heart muscle is not overburdened. Whenever possible, our surgeons use techniques designed for repair of abnormalities in the very young which allow for growth of the newly constructed regions of the heart and blood vessels. This approach, along with combined catheter and surgical procedures has allowed us to minimize, the number of operations patients require. This gives a child the best chance of leading a happy, active and long life.
Our experience and expertise in caring for children with heart disease is wide ranging and comprehensive. We provide care not only for congenital heart disease, but also for diseases of the heart, lung and blood vessels inside the chest that develop later in infancy or childhood. Although most children with heart disease can be successfully treated with surgical or cathertization procedures, for some, heart transplantation is the best option. To provide the full spectrum of management options for children with heart disease, Pediatric Heart Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Assist programs have been established at the Nemours Cardiac Center. Surgery at the Nemours Cardiac Center is performed by two board-certified cardiac surgeons with expertise in all aspects of surgery including neonatal surgery, single-ventricle palliation (including hypoplastic left heart syndrome), valve repairs, and aortic surgery, as well as, thoracic surgery, cardiac transplantation and mechanical circulatory support.
