The cardiovascular surgical team offers comprehensive surgical treatment of newborns, infants, children and young adults in Texas and the Southwest.
Most people only think of middle-aged adults or the elderly as being affected by heart disease.
Children are usually thought of as having healthy hearts. Some heart problems can be watched by the child's physician and managed with medicines, while others will require surgery, sometimes as soon as in the first few hours after birth. A child may even grow out of some of the simpler heart problems, such as patent ductus arteriosus or atrial septal defect, since these defects may simply close up on their own with growth. Others will have a combination of defects and require several operations throughout their lives. The heart-lung machine performs the work of the heart and lungs, allowing them to be in a resting state during surgery.