Heart Surgery | Seattle Childrens Hospital

Heart Surgery

Surgery is used to treat heart defects. Procedures range from the simple, such as closing a hole or tying off a vessel, to the complex, such as switching vessels or repairing heart valves.

Many heart surgeries are designed to restore the hearts circulation to as normal a level as possible so a child can live a long and active life. Babies born with complex heart defects need various surgeries, sometimes over several years, for their heart to work the best that it can.

The pediatric heart surgeons at Seattle Childrens use the most advanced techniques and achieve results that are among the best in the nation.

Many heart defects can be fixed with cardiac catheterization procedures, but some conditions still require surgery. Heart operations are commonly used to close holes in the heart. Other less common surgeries include:

Some children are born with complex heart defects that prevent 1 of the hearts 2 pumping chambers (ventricles) from working (single ventricle defect). These children require a series of surgeries over several years to help their heart pump well enough. Children with single ventricle defects receive compassionate, comprehensive care through our Single Ventricle Program.

Our pediatric heart surgeons are experts in the entire range of heart procedures from simple to complex for premature infants through young adults.

Having experienced pediatric heart surgeons is of the utmost importance: doctors skilled enough to know not just how to operate, but when and what type of surgery is needed in your childs particular situation. Each of our heart surgeons is board certified in pediatric heart surgery. This means they have more than 12 years of training in complex newborn and infant procedures.

Your childs surgeon will use advanced imaging techniques, including cardiac MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), echocardiography and 3-D imaging, to create a personalized repair plan that meets your childs needs and to monitor your childs progress.

Our surgeons are national leaders in the use of mechanical heart assist devices, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and complex pediatric heart transplantation.

Our heart surgeons perform operations at Seattle Childrens and at Multicare Mary Bridge Childrens Hospital in Tacoma as part of our regional cardiac surgery program. We have one of the first accredited fellowship programs in the United States to train the next generation of heart surgeons.

In our pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU), we offer the most specialized care and advanced technology available.

Seattle Childrens surgeons do more than 500 pediatric heart procedures each year, more than any other group of providers in the Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho (WWAMI) region. We performed a successful heart transplant for a baby less than 2 weeks old, the youngest infant in the Pacific Northwest to have a heart transplant.

Our outcomes are among the best in the nation for simple to complex heart procedures and transplants for children. Read more about the Heart Centers statistics and outcomes.

We are working to make surgeries safer and more effective, including:

Dr. Jonathan Chen leads the Heart Centers surgery program. He and Drs. Michael McMullan, Muhammad Nuri and Lester Permut perform most surgeries together so children benefit from the collaboration of experienced pediatric heart surgeons. Each is board certified in pediatric cardiac surgery.

The heart surgery team at Seattle Childrens includes pediatric cardiac anesthesiologists, fellows, cardiac nurses, cardiac nurse practitioners, cardiac intensivists and cardiopulmonary perfusionists, who operate the heart-lung machine (also called the bypass machine).

Contact the Heart Center at 206-987-2015 for a referral, a second opinion or more information.

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Heart Surgery | Seattle Childrens Hospital