Dell Children's - Congenital Heart Surgery

Dell Children’s Medical Center - Congenital Heart Surgery offers the only program in Central Texas providing complete multidisciplinary care for children with complex and progressive heart failure or that need a heart transplant. Led by experts in pediatric transplant cardiology, the heart transplant program offers every aspect of transplantation on-site at Dell Children’s Medical Center. We have a specialized team of physicians dedicated to caring for children undergoing heart transplantation. From the initial evaluation through follow-up care, our expert cardiologists will deliver the full spectrum of transplant care needs for patients, families, and referring providers.

Caring for children with complex cardiac disease

We see newborns, children and adults with chronic, end stage cardiac disease who are failing current medical therapy, or for whom no effective medical therapy exists and have been referred by a physician. Conditions include, but are not limited to:

• Complex congenital heart disease that is not reversible or can’t be cured by medical therapy
• Heart failure caused by cardiomyopathy which can be a genetic disease of the heart muscle
• Restrictive cardiac disease with worsening lung pressures
• Inotrope, ventilator, or mechanical circulatory support dependent cardiac circulation
• Prostaglandin dependent cardiac abnormality that is not reversible or can’t be helped by surgery
• Coronary allograft vasculopathy which is a form of coronary artery disease of the transplanted heart
• Cardiac tumors in the heart or heart valves
• Severe life-threatening heart rhythm disorders with high-risk of sudden cardiac death
• Other reasons deemed clinically necessary by the heart transplant team

Multidisciplinary care for your child

Heart Transplant - Our clinical care team has the ability to perform transplant procedures across both positive crossmatch and ABO incompatible donors with experience in desensitization protocols.

Cardiomyopathy (Heart muscle disease) - We offer expertise in the clinical care and treatment plans for children and adults who have heart muscle disease that is either primary or acquired. Our care team manages conditions such as dilated cardiomyopathy, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, restrictive cardiomyopathy, non-compaction cardiomyopathy, and genetic screening for individuals or their family members who have inherited heart muscle disease.

Mechanical Circulatory Support (MCS) - The expert care team at Dell Children’s is highly experienced with all types of Mechanical Circulatory Support for children including devices such as the Berlin Heart® EXCOR. Our clinical experts also have the capability to place durable Ventricular Assist Devices (VAD) and maintain patients in either the inpatient or outpatient setting on VAD support.