Cardiac Catheterization

Our experts in the Nemours Cardiac Center use their experience to tackle even the most complex heart problems. One of the many services we offer to ensure your child’s healthy future is our new state-of-the-art digital cardiac catheterization suite, specifically designed for children.

Located within the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children’s Cardiac Center, the suite allows us to offer a special place where our cardiologists can perform around-the-clock cardiac catheterization (a non-surgical procedure that can be used for both diagnosis and treatment of children’s heart conditions). Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, the suite is always available for any child who needs catheterization services.

Diagnostic Catheterization

Diagnostic cardiac catheterization is a test that’s done before heart surgery or a catheter-based treatment (such as dilating a blood vessel or closing a hole in the heart) to determine the exact details of your child’s heart and how it functions. A cardiac catheterization is performed under sedation with local anesthesia or under general anesthesia, depending on your child’s age and heart problem. A cardiac catheterization is completely painless and our cardiac anesthesiologists will make sure your child is comfortable throughout the procedure.

The catheterization is done by inserting a thin plastic, flexible tube (called a “catheter”) into an artery and vein that lead to the heart. If the procedure is done under sedation, some numbing medicine is placed where the catheter will enter. The doctor then guides the tube through the blood vessels and into the heart to take measurements of blood flow, pressure, and oxygen levels in the heart chambers and large vessels close to the heart. This helps the cardiologist to determine how the heart is functioning and how much blood is flowing through normal and abnormal connections.  The catheter is guided using a special X-ray study called “fluoroscopy” (and occasionally ultrasound) to help the doctor figure out where the catheter should go. Pictures of the heart chambers and blood vessels are usually taken using a special X-ray dye known as “contrast,” which is injected through the catheter.

Interventional Catheterization

In many cases, children’s heart problems can be treated at the time of cardiac catheterization without any surgical incisions on the chest. An “interventional catheterization” (sometimes called “therapeutic catheterization”) is performed like diagnostic catheterization, but allows the doctor to treat certain heart conditions.

An interventional catheterization can be used to:

• close abnormal holes in the heart
• open narrow blood vessels and valves
• permanently treat heart rhythm abnormalities
• work in conjunction with traditional open-heart surgery to treat complex cases

Our specialists have extensive experience in the non-surgical treatment of heart disease. Some of our frequently performed procedures, which often make open-heart surgery unnecessary, include:

• closure of abnormal connections inside and outside the heart
• closure of holes between upper and lower chambers of the heart (such as single or multiple atrial septal defects or muscular ventricular septal defects)
• closing off an abnormal blood vessel between the aorta and lung artery with a small coil or a special device (as in patent ductus arteriosus, or PDA)
• balloon angioplasty (in which a small balloon is inflated inside the blood vessel to stretch narrowed arteries and veins)  
• balloon valvuloplasty (using a small balloon to stretch the opening of heart valves)
• stent implantation (in which a small metal mesh tube is placed within a blood vessel to keep it open)

In some complex cases, members of our team work together to perform both open-heart surgery and interventional catheterization procedures in the same setting. By offering this kind of combined treatment option (typically called a “hybrid procedure”) we’re improving the outlook for scores of children – all with less discomfort, faster recovery time, and shorter hospital stays. And we’re proud to be one of only a mere handful of centers in the United States where these combo treatment capabilities are available.

The operating room in the Cardiac Center (used exclusively for heart surgery) is located right next to the cardiac catheterization suite so that our doctors can provide the best treatment for your child in a timely manner – whether it’s surgery, interventional cardiac catheterization, or both.

Our dedicated pediatric cardiac anesthesia team is always involved to ensure your child’s comfort and safety throughout these procedures.

And we know that, no matter how minor it may be, any heart procedure can be stressful and worrisome for both you and your child. So we’re always happy to answer all of your questions and explain each individual procedure in detail. Our staff will also make sure to update you about how the procedure is going.

After catheterization, your child will go to our recovery unit for special monitoring before returning to your private room. In many instances, your child may be discharged later the same day or the next morning. Typically, children are back to their normal selves within a few hours. And catheter-based treatments do not require extended recovery periods. Children can usually even return to their regular school after 3 days.