Congenital Heart Surgery Program

Specialists at Children's of Mississippi are skilled at treating congenital heart problems for newborns, children and adults. The highly trained and experienced medical team provides the most advanced approaches to remedy all types of repairs, even the most complex and challenging heart conditions, with outstanding results.

Thanks to our skilled medical staff, patients and their families no longer have to go out of state to be treated for any type of defect. Repairs, whether common or complex, are made by our specialized team dedicated to the care of congenital heart patients - from the clinic to the operating room, cardiac ICU and the cardiac step-down unit.

Congenital heart defects are problems with the heart's structure present at birth. Many defects are detected very early, even while the baby is in the womb. Others, however, are not detected until an older person begins to have symptoms of a heart problem. Common defects include holes in the heart and misplaced, malformed and/or missing valves, vessels and heart chambers, according to the Adult Congenital Heart Association.

Our expertise includes complicated congenital heart surgeries, such as the Norwood procedure used to begin repairing hypoplastic left heart syndrome. When the left side of the heart fails to develop completely and pump blood efficiently, the right side must pump blood to both the lungs and the rest of the body. The Norwood procedure redesigns the heart connections to provide stable blood flow. If left untreated, hypoplastic left heart syndrome is fatal.

The Children's of Mississippi care team is dedicated to management and treatment of newborns, children and adults born with a heart defect. In some situations, repair is not necessary right away. However, as the patient ages, the effect of such defects change, often requiring heart specialists' surgical intervention and advanced treatment. Patients who have had multiple previous surgeries or who have been turned away elsewhere due to the complexity of their care also now can turn to our specialists for relief.

The congenital heart program is a collaborative effort incorporating surgery, catheterization, intensive care, echocardiography, CT/MRI imaging, nursing, respiratory therapy, perfusion, neonatology, cardiology and anesthesiology with a common goal of providing specialized cardiac care.

Services

Surgical options offered at Children's of Mississippi for children with congenital heart conditions include, but are not limited to:

• Open heart surgery
• Newborn surgeries
  • Norwood procedure for hypoplastic left heart syndrome and other conditions
  • Hybrid Norwood procedure
  • Arterial switch procedure for transposition of the great arteries
  • Repair of total anomalous pulmonary venous return
  • Repair of truncus arteriosus
  • Blalock-Taussig (BT) shunt for pulmonary atresia and tetralogy of Fallot
  • Management of single ventricle conditions, such as tricuspid atresia and mitral atresia
  • All valve repairs
  • Aortic arch repairs for hypoplastic aortic arch and coarctation
• Infant and children's surgeries
  • Glenn procedure for single ventricle conditions
  • Ventricular septal defect repair
  • Tetralogy of Fallot repair
  • Atrioventricular (AV) canal repairs
  • Atrial septal defect (ASD) repair, including sinus venosus and primum ASDs
  • Pulmonary valve replacement
  • Pulmonary artery repairs, including hybrid stenting procedures
  • Repairs for double chamber right ventricle and right ventricular outflow tract obstruction
  • Subaortic membrane and left ventricular outflow tract obstruction repairs
  • Repair of mitral stenosis and mitral regurgitation
  • Repair of aortic stenosis and aortic regurgitation
  • Fontan procedure for single ventricle conditions
  • Septal myectomy for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (IHSS, SAM, LVOT obstruction)
  • Hybrid aortic arch and coarctation stenting
• Complex surgeries for all ages
  • Repair of anomalous coronary arteries, such as ALCAPA
  • Repair of pulmonary artery sling
  • Conditions requiring the Ross procedure
  • Conditions requiring aortic root/valve replacement
  • All valve repairs
• Other heart surgeries (non-open heart)
  • Repair of vascular rings, including innominate artery compression syndrome
  • Thymectomy for tumor and myasthenia gravis
  • Coarctation repair
  • Blalock-Taussig (BT) shunt
  • Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) ligation
  • Pulmonary artery band
  • Pacemaker surgeries
  • Mechanical assistance (ECMO) for heart failure and cardiomyopathy