New Option for Newborn Heart Surgery

A new minimally invasive technique may reduce the high death rate and neurologic damage associated with open-heart surgery on newborns with a congenital heart defect.

The new procedure is conducted in a catheterization lab rather than an operating room. The chest is opened briefly to gain access to the heart and the pulmonary arteries. Through small openings, the surgeon places restrictive bands around these vessels to narrow them, restricting blood flow to the lungs. Next, two surgeons work together to deploy a stent, which will allow blood pumped by the right side of the heart to flow into the aorta and out to the child's small body. This combination of less-invasive measures buys time, enables the child to survive without a massive operation soon after birth and allows the child to grow for several months, which makes the follow-up operations easier.

The technique was developed by Emile Bacha, M.D., surgical director of the Congenital Heart Center at the University of Chicago Children's Hospital (IL, USA) and a colleague, Ziyad M. Hijazi, M.D. "In hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), babies are born basically missing the left side of their heart and would die within the week without treatment,” explained Dr. Bacha, who spoke at the American Medical Association's Annual Science Reporters' Conference in Washington (DC, USA) in October 2004.

"Our new hybrid procedure doesn't require the heart-lung machine or stopping the infant's heart. This reduces the risk of neurological damage,” added Dr. Bacha. "The hybrid technique has proved so successful that it has replaced the traditional method for use with newborns at the University of Chicago's Children's Hospital.”




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U. of Chicago Children's Hospital