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November 15, 2003
North Texas Hospital for Children Establishes Pediatric Congenital Heart Program

"Medical City Commits to Building 'World-Class' Program"

A new Pediatric Congenital Heart Program has been established at North Texas Hospital for Children at Medical City, according to Britt Berrett, president and chief executive officer of Medical City and NTHC. Dr. Eric N. Mendeloff, a leading surgeon in this highly specialized field, is the program director.

"We are extremely proud of our cardiovascular services," said Berrett. "This award for excellence in our coronary artery bypass grafting procedures is a tribute to the remarkable physicians, nurses and staff who treat our cardio patients every day."

Formal opening of the program was Nov. 11 with the first surgery scheduled for Nov. 13.

"With the addition of a congenital heart program, NTHC joins the ranks of other nationally recognized hospitals that have a dedicated congenital heart specialty as part of a comprehensive cardiovascular program," said Berrett. "We are building the North Texas Hospital for Children at Medical City Congenital Heart Program to compete on the world stage. Dr. Mendeloff is one of the most respected congenital heart surgeons in the country. His arrival, paired with our new pediatric unit, a full battery of specialized equipment and the team of elite specialists that will join him, will make ours a world-class congenital heart program."

Dr. Mendeloff, a native of Milwaukee, Wisc., is a 1985 graduate of the UCLA School of Medicine. He was a general surgery resident at the University of Michigan, where he served as administrative chief resident. He spent two years as a clinical research Fellow in the Cardiac Surgery Division of the National Institutes of Health. After completing a traditional two-year Cardiothoracic Fellowship at Barnes Hospital, Dr. Mendeloff spent a year in specialty training with a focus solely in congenital heart surgery at St. Louis Children's Hospital.

"We have the expertise and technology available today that allows us to treat children with congenital defects right away so they can grow up and live active, healthier lives," said Dr. Mendeloff. "Medical City and North Texas Hospital for Children are acquiring all of the necessary resources to make this expertise available to pediatric patients from across Texas and around the world. They are committed to making this a world-class Congenital Heart Program. I'm excited to be a part of the program."

The hospital expects at least 200 cases in 2004. Medical City has invested some $2.3 million to construct and outfit a new, dedicated cardiothoracic pediatric OR and congenital heart surgery unit that includes four cardiothoracic ICU beds and the latest perfusion equipment to ensure proper oxygen saturation and flow to the patient's brain while bypassing the heart.

A team focus is key to NTHC's Pediatric Congenital Heart Program, and the dedicated physicians, nurses and staff - many of whom have worked together for years - operate as a well-oiled machine to care for patients. In addition to the pediatric congenital heart surgeon, the pediatric team includes pediatric cardiologists, neonatologists, intensivists, anesthesiologists, respiratory therapists, child life, case management, perfusionists and specialty nurses. In addition, a pediatric neonatal transport team will support the program by providing top-flight care for this critically ill group of patients, operating as a mobile intensive care unit to transport patients to Medical City from any where in the United States.

Approximately one in 125 to 150 infants are born with heart defects each year in the United States. The defect may be so slight that the baby appears healthy for many years after birth, or so severe that its life is in imminent danger. Heart defects are among the most common birth defects, and are the leading cause of birth defect-related deaths. The most common defects are:
  • Hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which is a combination of defects that results in a left ventricle (the heart's main pumping chamber) that is too small to support life. This defect is the most common cause of death from congenital heart disease and has a 90-100 percent mortality rate without surgical intervention.
  • Septal defects, such as bicuspid aortic valve, commonly described as a "hole in the heart," where the heart developed abnormally, causing the connection of the heart and its blood vessels to be deranged.
  • Coarctation of the aorta, which occurs when the large artery that sends blood from the heart to the rest of the body may be too narrow for the blood to flow evenly.
  • Heart valve abnormalities.
  • Tetralogy of Fallot, which is a combination of four heart defects that keeps some blood from getting to the lungs, so that a baby has episodes of cyanosis (decreased oxygen resulting in a bluish-colored skin) and may grow poorly.
  • Transposition of the great arteries, where the positions of the two major arteries leaving the heart are reversed, so that each arises from the wrong pumping chamber.
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