Pediatric Cardiac Surgery

Statistically, about 1% of all newborns are born with more or less severe heart defects. Without therapy, these heart defects can sooner or later damage the heart severely to the extent that it can no longer perform its functions. In such cases, pediatric cardiac surgery comes into play, where all types of congenital heart defects are treated surgically. Not only newborns and infants but also adults with congenital heart defects are in good hands here.

In Pediatric Heart Surgery, Interdisciplinary Cooperation Is Mandatory

To guarantee the best therapy for our little patients, many different specialist disciplines work together in the field of pediatric cardiac surgery. These include pediatric cardiologists (heart specialists), neonatologists (newborn specialists), pediatricians, pediatric anesthesiologists, and general pediatric surgeons. Psychological support should also not be neglected in such cases. Therefore, social psychologists are present in all pediatric surgery departments to provide loving support in severe cases.

Common Heart Defects in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery

The most common congenital heart defects include holes between the two heart chambers or the atria (ventricular septal defect / atrial septal defect). The various heart valves may also be narrowed (valve stenosis). In rarer cases, important vessels supplying or draining the heart are malformed or interchanged (e.g., pulmonary atresia). Often there are multiple malformations (e.g., tetralogy of Fallot).

Approximately eight out of 1000 newborns are affected by one of these heart defects when they are born. Some of them are less severe and may remain undetected until adulthood, or even at all. Others are not survivable without pediatric cardiac surgery to ensure adequate oxygen and blood supply to the body.

Surgical Methods in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery

In reflection of the range of congenital heart defects, there are just as many different surgeries in the specialty of pediatric cardiac surgery. More minor defects can be repaired through the vessels with a catheter (similar to cardiac catheterization in adults). For more significant defects, open thorax surgery is carried out. In many cases, the circulation must be secured by a heart-lung machine during the surgery. Many of these surgeries require special skills and abilities of the surgeons since the surgeries are carried out with small instruments and in tiny spaces (small chests of children).

Due to the frequency of heart defects, many procedures in pediatric cardiac surgery have long been standard procedures and are carried out frequently and successfully. In addition, the achievements of modern medicine are also helpful here, which make every surgery safer through the best imaging, diagnostics, and intraoperative monitoring.