Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital

Cardiac catheterization has transformed congenital cardiology by giving physicians the ability to diagnose and treat certain types of heart problems in a minimally invasive manner. In some cases, it can even eliminate the need for more invasive procedures.

The Cardiac Center at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital is the only children’s hospital in Broward County performing pediatric cardiac catheterization. Led by Kak-Chen Chan, MD, our team has an expert understanding of congenital cardiac anatomy in infants and children and can perform catheterization on the tiniest of hearts or on adults with complex congenital cardiac defects.

How Cardiac Catheterization Works

A catheter is a thin, flexible, hollow tube that can be inserted into the blood vessels and advanced into or around the patient’s heart. The cardiologist gently guides the catheter on its journey, using fluoroscopic imaging to help “see” and record information about the patient’s cardiovascular system. This allows the doctor to find the type of heart defect, the exact place, and how severe it is. There are many benefits to doctors using catheters with other medical devices, such as:

• Repairing congenital heart defects
• Obtaining tissue samples for a biopsy
• Inserting stents into blood vessels that need to be widened to improve circulation

Advantages of Cardiac Catheterization

Some of the advantages of cardiac catheterization include:

• It is less invasive than major surgery and generally has fewer risks
• It is far less painful, with patients typically requiring only a sedative and a local anesthetic
• A child’s recovery time is shorter than with surgery, and they usually have less scarring
• Allows physicians to intervene in the progression of a disease while it is still early in its course

Newborn babies, in particular, have benefited greatly from the availability of catheter-based procedures in the treatment of congenital heart defects, as they are especially vulnerable to suffering brain injuries as a complication of open heart surgery.

Combining Catheterization with Open Heart Surgery

Congenital heart conditions are varied and complex. In some cases, patients may undergo hybrid procedures that combine surgical and interventional procedures. To learn more about our catheterization suite, which has the distinction of being the first “hybrid” suite in the region capable of supporting procedures that combine catheterization with surgery, click here.

Interventional Research

Clinical trials for interventional devices and surgical valves are ongoing at the Cardiac Center. Newer studies designed to treat heart defects, migraines, and even prevent strokes are being developed. For more information about clinical trials or research projects, contact us.

To schedule an appointment or learn more about the Cardiac Center at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, please call 954-265-3437.