The Cardiac Center at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital
Cardiac Surgery
Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital's cardiac surgery program has a long and
storied reputation that attracts patients from all over South Florida and
beyond. Led
by Richard Perryman, MD, Director
of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, the program has successfully treated patients
as young as one day old, using the most sophisticated surgical techniques
available.
The program offers a wide spectrum of cardiac surgical procedures from early neonatal correction to repair of congenital cardiac lesions in adults. Just as there are pediatricians to provide specialized care of children, there are congenital heart surgeons to provide specialized care for people of all ages with congenital heart disease.
“As pediatric and congenital surgeons, we are
used to taking the heart apart,
repairing it
and putting it back together again,” explains
Dr. Perryman.
An Emphasis on Safety
At Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, great care is taken to enhance the surgical
patient’s safety at every stage of treatment, from pre-operative planning
to post-operative recovery.
“Our focus is not only on the quality of the surgical procedure, but in performing the surgery in such a way as to minimize the effects of the surgery on the patient as a whole,” says Frank Scholl, MD, Chief of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery.
For that reason, the surgeons work closely with the hospital’s interventional cardiology program to offer patients minimally invasive treatment options whenever medically appropriate. In some instances, they even perform “hybrid” procedures that combine open surgery with cardiac catheterization.
“To maximize patient safety, we avoid the use of circulatory arrest whenever possible and perform many of our procedures on patients at or near normal body temperature, with normal amounts of oxygenated blood flow to the body,” adds Dr. Scholl. “We routinely use techniques to avoid the use of blood products unless absolutely necessary.”
A Broad Repertoire of Surgical Procedures
Some of the procedures performed at The Cardiac Center at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital are offered only at a small number of hospitals in the country.
- Modified Norwood Stage 1 palliation for Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome
- Hybrid Stage 1 palliation for Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome
- Arterial Switch operation for Transposition of the Great Vessels
- Repair of Truncus Arteriosus
- Repair of Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return (TAPVR)
- Repair of Interrupted Aortic Arch
The Cardiac Center also performs more common types of congenital heart repairs:
- Repair of Atrial Septal Defect (ASD)
- Repair of Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD)
- Ligation of Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA)
- Repair of Atrioventricular Septal Defect (AVSD)
On a limited basis, the surgical team will travel to outlying hospitals to do procedures so that patients with serious conditions do not have to be transported. In most cases, however, long-distance patients who require emergency care at The Cardiac Center will be assisted by the hospital’s Transport Program.
A Patient- and Family-Centered Approach
Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital is well known for its commitment to patient-
and family-centered care, a philosophy of healthcare that involves patients
and their loved ones in every aspect of the hospital experience so they
may have a fuller understanding of the condition being treated. For surgical
patients and their loved ones, this means more opportunities to ask questions,
observe and even participate in certain types of care rituals that were
once conducted “behind the scenes.”
“As a parent and pediatric heart surgeon, I appreciate the fact that repairing a life-threatening congenital defect in a neonate not only gives the parents their child back but gives the child their whole life to live,” says Dr. Scholl.
“By providing family-friendly services, the hospital honors the importance of the patient’s support network as equal partners in the healing process.”
