Conditions and Procedures
Repair or palliation of all forms of congenital heart disease, including complex single ventricle defects, and all other malformations of the heart, its valves and the great vessels.

• Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and Tricuspid Atresia (Norwood, Glenn and Fontan Procedures)
• Transposition of the Great Arteries (Arterial Switch Operation)
• Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return
• Truncus Arteriosus
• Interrupted Aortic Arch
• Tetralogy of Fallot
• Complete AV Canal Defect
• Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD)
• Atrial Septal Defect (ASD)
• Ross Procedure
• Coarctation of the Aorta
• Cardiac Transplantation
• Thoracic Procedures for Correction of Lung, Esophageal and Chest Wall Abnormalities
• Neonatal Heart Surgery
• Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) program for neonates and children with cardiac and pulmonary diseases:
  • Supports ventilation and circulation while the heart and lungs recover after surgery or recovery from serious illness
  • Similar to bypass equipment used during cardiac surgery
  • Under direction of director of pediatric perfusion
  • Support staff of skilled team of intensive care nurses and respiratory therapists
• Pediatric cardiac anesthesia:
  • Understands and specializes in pediatric congenital heart disease
  • Meets patients prior to procedures
  • Monitors more than 20 different functions of the child’s body (blood pressure, oxygen, heart rate, breathing, etc.) from preoperative evaluation until stabilized in cardiovascular recovery
• Pediatric perfusion
  • Medical specialists who attend to the heart/lung bypass machine used in correction of heart defects
  • Skilled professionals trained and educated as members of the congenital heart surgery team
  • Responsible for selection, setup and operation of the heart/lung machine and any other circulation equipment during medical procedures where it is necessary to support or temporarily replace a patient’s respiratory or circulatory function
  • Keeps the child’s body in physiological balance as if it were working under its own normal circumstances
  • Customizes perfusion to the unique needs of the patients rather than a one-size-fits-all approach

Special Equipment

• Point-of-care testing at bedside to check the delicate physiology of babies so that second-to-second adjustments can be made
• Fetal echocardiography to detect heart conditions as early as just 12 weeks into a pregnancy
• Cardiac catheterization lab dedicated to the care of children with congenital heart defects
• Rapid-response extracorporeal membrane oxygenator (ECMO) for postoperative pediatric care to relieve strain on the heart

Program Highlights 

• Only facility in North Texas where fetal diagnosis, high-risk deliveries, stabilization in the neonatal intensive care unit, corrective surgery, state-of-the-art postoperative monitoring and care, and long-term follow-up of patients with complex congenital heart disease can all be delivered under one roof
• Multidisciplinary team offering specialized care for patients with congenital heart defects as well as support for their entire family
• Only program in Dallas with a dedicated core team of cardiovascular specialists to treat every age group
• Care is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
• All nurses have specialized pediatric cardiovascular training
• Focus on family-centered care
• A full array of innovative diagnostic techniques, including cardiac MRI and 3-D echocardiography
• Collaborative team approach with specialists in congenital heart surgery, pediatric cardiology, fetal echo, critical care, anesthesia and perfusion
• Treatment often begins before birth with fetal echo and family counseling by our pediatric cardiologist and congenital heart surgeon and continues into adulthood
• Our Heart Center encompasses the full spectrum of cardiac care