Medical Director, Pediatric Cardiac Interventional Services

I am a pediatric interventional cardiologist and medical director of Pediatric Cardiac Interventional Services at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Heart Institute. Our interventional congenital cardiology team treats patients of all ages with congenital heart disease, from premature newborns to older adults.

Our team cares for patients before and after congenital heart surgery and provides primary transcatheter treatment for congenital heart lesions such as atrial septal defects, patent ductus arteriosus or vascular stenosis (e.g., pulmonary arterial stenosis and coarctation of the aorta). We also perform transcatheter pulmonary and tricuspid valve replacements where placement is possible without surgery.

I became interested in medicine as a child. During my first year in medical school, I was introduced to congenital interventional cardiology and was fascinated that many patients could be treated for heart conditions without surgery. Throughout the past few decades, technological and procedural advancements have increased the therapeutic options within the catheterization laboratory.

Congenital heart disease can be very complicated requiring patients and their families to make many important decisions. At Joe DiMaggio, we work closely with each child’s entire cardiac team which includes the primary cardiologist, cardiothoracic surgeon, cardiac imaging specialist as well as the patient and their family. We discuss all medical options as a team and determine the best approach. I frequently use medical imaging to describe heart conditions and treatment to my patients and their families.

I love interacting with patients and families throughout their cardiology care. It’s truly an honor to be a part of a patient’s cardiac journey.

In addition to providing patient care, I am also president of the Pediatric and Congenital Interventional Cardiology Early Career Society (PICES), which supports congenital interventional cardiologists within their first 10 years out of training. In 2021, I was honored to receive the Young Leadership Award at the international PICS meeting.

I also enjoy mentoring and training young physicians and medical students and reviewing articles and abstracts for several publications including the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions, and Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions. View More

Edward Bove, MD is known to many of his patients as a compassionate doctor with an international reputation of someone who rises to the challenge of complicated heart cases.

For the pediatric cardiac surgeons who have trained under him, Dr. Bove, cardiac surgeon at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and Chair of the Department of Cardiac Surgery at University of Michigan Health System, is an invaluable mentor and an innovator in the area of congenital heart disease.

Now, his clinical expertise and prowess in program development will fuse with Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital's cadre of pediatric heart surgeons and physicians to take the hospital's Heart Institute to next level.

"For years, we have been assembling a pediatric cardiac team like no other in South Florida, employing some of the best physicians and surgeons in the country, to offer an array of services that cover the spectrum of cardiac diseases in children and heart transplantion," said Frank Scholl, MD, Chief of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery and Surgical Director of Pediatric Cardiac Transplant at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital. "Dr. Bove's collaboration and expertise in program development will help us further construct and expand the program, while we continue to align our talented medical staff."

While still a practicing pediatric cardiac surgeon and Chair of Cardiac Surgery at University of Michigan, Dr. Bove has started collaboration in a mentorship capacity with physicians at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital Heart Institute, where he will also scrub in for highly intricate cardiac cases. He will review the program and advise on changes to help innovate and enhance its current structure.

"Having had the opportunity to lead the pediatric cardiac surgery program at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital for many years, I can step in with enough experience to help reorganize a bit, bring on new talent where additional expertise is needed and assist them with very complex cases," said Dr. Bove, who has a national and international reputation in cardiac surgery with a focus on congenital heart disease. "I see in Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital a congenital heart program and a children's hospital poised for world-class status. There is a lot of great talent here."

With a humble and friendly demeanor, Dr. Bove is known to guide cardiac teams with poise and confidence and cardiac programs with vision and strategy. He is credited for bringing international recognition to the University of Michigan's pediatric cardiac program, and has been profiled for performing more than 10,000 life-saving cardiac surgeries in his career.

Yet, among his many roles as physician, surgeon and administrator, he finds his position as mentor to be the most rewarding of his career.

"I enjoy teaching; I get a kick at seeing my students do a great job in the operating room and the contributions they provide when they operate," he said.

In fact, his mentorship position with Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital Heart Institute will reunite him with one of his pupils, Pediatric Cardiac Surgeon Steven Bibevski MD, Ph.D., who trained under his tutelage at Michigan. The connection of Drs. Bibevski and Bove is only one example of the academic pedigree and caliber of the cardiac team at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital. Dr. Scholl worked at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he performed congenital heart surgery and transplantation, as surgical director of the heart transplantation and cardiac assist device program, prior to joining Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital.

As a pediatric hospital that is part of Memorial Healthcare System, Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital offers the foundation to care for congenital heart patients throughout their lives. For years, the team has offered children the life-saving technology to bridge to transplant through the use of a cardiac assist device, known as the Berlin Heart. Since they established the Pediatric Cardiac Transplant program in 2010, the team has successfully performed 14 heart transplants with all patients doing well post operation.

"Having someone of Dr. Bove's character and reputation providing his counsel and guidance will help us focus on areas that will give the program further substance, while developing specific niche programs that will thrust Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital into true world-class status," Dr. Scholl said.

Dr. Bove says he is convinced Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital Heart Institute has the right formula and mix of talent to be among the best programs in the country.

"We all have ways of comparing how we do versus other major centers. Achieving better outcomes in terms of mortality is essential, but it goes beyond that," Dr. Bove said. "It's pushing the envelope and innovating. World class programs invent new ways of doing things, what others have not been able to see. Innovation separates world class." View More

Maryann Chrisant, MD, is the Medical Director, Pediatric Cardiac Transplant, Heart Failure And Cardiomyopathy, The Cardiac Center at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Chrisant has an established reputation for helping pediatric heart transplant programs grow and thrive. She holds a bachelor's degree from Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts and a medical degree from New York Medical College in Westchester County. View More

Laura D'Addese, MD., is a pediatric cardiologist specializing in heart failure and transplant medicine. She cares for patients with acute and chronic heart failure, as well as those who have undergone heart transplantation or require mechanical circulatory support (MCS). View More

Peter Guyon, MD is a pediatric and congenital interventional cardiologist at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.

I treat patients with all types of congenital heart disease, from relatively simple conditions like atrial septal defect (ASD) and patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) to complex conditions like hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) and transposition of the great arteries (TGA). I also perform interventions such as transcatheter valve replacement and am part of a team that cares for adults with congenital heart disease.

I have always been fascinated by science and technology and was drawn to a career in medicine by the social aspects of patient care. During my training, I found I thrived when working with children and their families. While I enjoy working with patients of all ages, there is a special place in my heart for babies and toddlers with congenital heart disease.

I love that cardiology is constantly evolving, with new techniques and tools being introduced all the time. This means that we constantly integrate new information, improvements and treatments to help our patients feel their best. My work takes me from simple clinic visits to emergency interventions for critically ill patients, and everything in between.

I do my best to help patients and families understand their diagnosis and the various treatment options available to them. Then we partner in decision-making to find the best plan forward for their child.

In addition to my work as a physician, I am also an accomplished pianist and an aspiring author, painter and photographer. View More

Medical Director, Pediatric Cardiac Imaging, Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital

Dr. Lazaro E. Hernandez is a pediatric cardiac imaging cardiologist with advanced training in pediatric cardiac MRI.

I am a board-certified pediatric cardiologist with training in advanced cardiac imaging/cardiac MRI, and the medical director of Pediatric Cardiac imaging at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital.

I perform cardiac MRIs and echocardiograms on pediatric patients with a variety of congenital and acquired heart diseases. I have also introduced newly developed cardiac MRI sequences only performed in a few pediatric hospitals across the country, including the stress-perfusion cardiac MRI, at Joe DiMaggio.

As an imaging cardiologist, I get to help identify anatomic problems in a child's heart. This information and the images I capture help us to guide the medical management and also provide a better understanding for surgeons planning a procedure.

At Memorial, we work as a team to support and care for children and their families. Our goal is always to try to resolve the health concerns of a child, in turn improving their quality of life and that of their family. View More

Medical Director, Inpatient Pediatric Cardiac Services & Pediatric Echocardiography Services

I am a pediatric cardiologist at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. I diagnose and treat children and adults with congenital heart disease and children with acquired heart disease, creating personalized treatment plans that may involve surgeries and interventions.


I was the first pediatric congenital cardiologist to be certified to perform and interpret Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (CT) in the United States in 2009 and remain one of the very few with the certification and experience in virtual dissections by CT and 3D echocardiography in the country.

I knew that I wanted to become a doctor at a very young age, because I was fascinated with the human body. I find the heart to be an amazing and intricate organ and I like children, so pediatric cardiology was a great fit for me. I continued with cardiac imaging at a time when we were starting to discover the benefits of 3D echocardiography in cardiac interventions and were just starting to create 3D renderings of intracardiac anatomy by a computer.

In cardiac imaging, I was trained by the most recognized mentors in those fields: with Drs. Hlavaceck and Schoepf for CT and by Dr. Shirali in 3D echocardiography. For two years, I was also awarded a National Institute of Health grant to perform research in these fields before joining the Congenital Heart Institute of Florida, where I became the Director of Cardiovascular Imaging.

At Memorial, I love to provide the most precise diagnosis for my patients and find the least invasive procedure or solution to help them feel and function better. When needed, I also guide surgeons and interventionists as they perform cardiac procedures with the help of the most advanced cardiac imaging technique available. The most rewarding aspect is to then see your patient thriving and doing well and knowing you were part of that miracle.

I treat each patient of mine as if they were my child. As a father of four who has had my own children hospitalized in the Pediatric ICU for different reasons, I understand how worrisome it is to be the parent of a sick child. I have been in your position and promise to give you the time and attention your child needs. My loyalty is always towards my patient, and I promise to be the cardiac advocate for your child.

Before joining Memorial, I was Director of Hospitalization and Non-Invasive Cardiology at St. Joseph Children’s Hospital in Tampa Bay, Florida. View More

Dr. Kak-Chen Chan is Chief of Pediatric Cardiovascular and Interventional Services at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.

He is a pediatric cardiologist with nearly three decades of experience in interventional cardiology and echocardiography in the United States and abroad. View More

Orhan Kilinc, MD, is a pediatric electrophysiologist at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital.

I care for pediatric patients with heart rhythm problems such as supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), heart block (surgical or congenital), ventricular tachycardia and genetic arrhythmia syndromes (this includes long QT Syndrome, Brudaga Syndrome, and catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, etc.) and other cardiac concerns.

I was inspired to pursue a career in pediatric electrophysiology by an unlikely source – Jimmy, who was Dr. Willem Einthoven's dog. Dr. Einthoven was a Dutch physiologist and Jimmy was a big part of his experiments. Jimmy's heartbeats were the first to be recorded. It is fascinating to me that we still use the same principles to record the ECG as the first machines used to record the ECG. The mechanics of the heart and the technology we use to explore and understand it have fascinated me endlessly since I first began learning about it in medical school.

I love the field of electrophysiology because we can improve most of our patients' quality of life significantly in a very short time period. This makes patients happy and satisfied, and as a physician, having this type of positive impact is one of the biggest rewards you can get.

I also love that electrophysiology heavily involves computer technology and electronics. As technology improves, it in turn leads to improvements and advancements in patient care. This results in us being able to treat and manage conditions better and more efficiently.

When working with patients, I want them to be fully informed about their condition. I want them to understand what is happening and what we can do to manage it. I also want them to feel comfortable and confident in the management plan, which we would create together.

At the end of the day, my job is to do everything in my power to help my patients feel better and get back to living their lives.
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Jared Klein is a pediatric imaging specialist at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.

I care for pediatric patients with a variety of heart conditions including those with Marfan syndrome, Tetralogy of Fallot and hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

My father is an adult cardiologist and, as a child, I remember watching him review echocardiograms on VHS tapes in his office. He got me interested in the field and inspired me to pursue a career in medicine. As I progressed through medical school, I found pediatric encounters and pathology to be my favorite. Ultimately, I found pediatric cardiology to be the most interesting specialty due to its complexity, wide breadth of imaging and procedures that are involved.

I use imaging, especially echocardiography and cardiac MRI, to arrive at a patient’s diagnosis and “set the stage” for further medical or surgical treatment. Advanced cardiac imaging, especially via MRI, gives us a better field of view so we can best visualize the complex connections in congenital heart disease.

When caring for patients and working with their families, I always try to describe the diagnosis and plan of action with clarity and conciseness. While I know any heart condition can be terrifying for a child and their loved ones, our team is here to provide information, expertise, guidance and support to help families navigate the experience. View More

Dr. Larry Latson is internationally recognized for excellence in patient care, education and research in congenital heart disease. He has more than 30 years of experience in interventional catheterization for congenital heart disease and contributed to development of many modern techniques for treatment of congenital heart disease in patients of all ages. He is board-certified in the new specialty of Adult Congenital Heart Disease. View More

I am a pediatric imaging specialist at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital. I perform and interpret echocardiograms for individuals with congenital heart defects ranging from simple heart lesions (such as an atrial septal defect, or a hole between the top two chambers of the heart) to very complex lesions, as well as acquired cardiovascular conditions (such as heart failure, pulmonary hypertension and infections involving the heart).

I knew I wanted to be a doctor since I was a young child. Then, while attending medical school in Germany, I had the opportunity to work closely with a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon. I became captivated by the complexity of the heart and decided to pursue extra elective rotations in pediatric cardiology, which led me to pursue residency training in pediatrics and ultimately fellowship training in pediatric cardiology.

My love for echocardiography became apparent very early in my fellowship training. It's amazing what modern technology has enabled us to do – to see the beating heart and make diagnoses non-invasively. Echocardiography is not painful or harmful and yet extremely useful.

Fetal echocardiography is my passion and I particularly enjoy working with pregnant mothers and helping them attain the information and resources necessary to ensure their babies get the best care possible.

As a mother, I care for each patient as I would want my own child to be cared for. Often, I get to know patients and their families very well as I follow them throughout their lives. It's an honor and a privilege to get to accompany our heart heroes along the way.

I also love the intellectual challenge of my work and the opportunity to work closely with a team of qualified professionals to provide the best care possible to every patient. View More

Chief, Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital Heart Institute
Chief, Pediatric & Congenital Cardiac Surgery
Surgical Director, Heart Transplantation & Mechanical Circulatory Assistance

As Chief of Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital Heart Institute, I treat all pediatric cardiac disease, and congenital heart disease in both children and adults. I perform conventional heart surgery to repair congenital heart defects and heart valve problems that might be acquired in children. I’m also Surgical Director of the hospital’s Heart Transplant and Heart Failure Program, and perform heart transplantation and surgeries to implant mechanical circulatory assist devices, which are artificial heart pumps.

One of the areas I’m most passionate about is tissue regeneration research. At Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, we have been studying extracellular matrix and valve construction for valve replacement in children, and are actively participating in funded research related to these valve constructs.

My patients and their well-being are my top priority. Parents always thank me and our team, but all we do is fix their child’s heart. The children are the real heroes. I draw a huge amount of inspiration from what I see these kids go through every day. I’ve always loved children, and being able to give life, prolong life and improve the quality of life of children with congenital heart defects is immensely gratifying. It’s amazing to know that you’ve given a child years of good quality of life and helped ensure that they have the best chance to grow into adulthood.

I’m a member of the Board of Directors of the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation, whose mission is to secure philanthropic funding to support the hospital, and I serve as president of the Board of Directors of the American Heart and Stroke Association’s South Florida affiliate. I’m also honored to have volunteered on multiple international mission trips to perform heart surgery in children around the world.

When I’m not at work, I enjoy spending time with my wife and four children, who bring me great joy. I’m a fan of cars, fishing, boating, the outdoors and winter sports. View More

Svetlana Shugh, MD is a pediatric cardiologist at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital where she specializes in treating patients with heart failure and cardiomyopathy, and those in need of or who have had cardiac transplants.

She's trained in managing patients who require mechanical circulatory support (MCS) to maintain adequate cardiac output.

One of her special interests is in the management of cardiomyopathy in patients with neuromuscular diseases. View More