With one of the largest and most experienced pediatric general surgery programs in the world, we care for a broad range of conditions, from common illnesses that require routine procedures to rare conditions that demand highly complex fetal surgeries. Learn more about the conditions we treat and the services we provide below.
Conditions
Aortic stenosis occurs when the large blood vessel that takes oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the body (the aorta) is narrow at the place where the aorta leaves the heart. This makes it difficult for the heart to pump blood to the body and can result in a weak heart muscle or poor blood flow.
The atria are two top chambers of the heart. One holds blood that has oxygen, and one holds blood that needs oxygen. In ASD, there is an abnormal gap between these two chambers. As a result, the mixed blood that goes out to the body does not carry the right amount of oxygen.
AVSD occurs when blood is able to slide freely between the upper and lower chambers of the heart, as well as the right and left sides of the heart.
Bicuspid aortic valve occurs when the valve to the aorta, which pumps oxygenated blood to the body, has two sections rather than three. This condition can put strain on the aorta and/or the heart and cause them to malfunction.
Brugada syndrome is a rare condition in which the heart has an increased likelihood of entering a dangerous rhythm, such as ventricular tachycardia.
Cardiomyopathy occurs when the muscles that surround the heart chambers and pump blood to the body with each contraction do not function properly.
CoA occurs when the large blood vessel that takes oxygenated blood from the heart to the body (the aorta) is narrow where it curves away from the heart towards the body. This makes it difficult for the heart to pump blood to the body and can result in a weak heart muscle or poor blood flow.
Dextrocardia occurs when the heart is located on the right side of the chest rather than the usual left side.
DiGeorge syndrome is a genetic disorder that affects many organ systems in the body. It can be associated with several heart defects, including Tetralogy of Fallot and ventricular septal defect.
When a child has a double inlet left ventricle, the right atrium (holding blood that needs oxygen) and the left atrium (holding blood that has oxygen) both empty into an enlarged left ventricle. The mixed blood that goes out into the body does not have the right amount of oxygen.
When a child has a double outlet left ventricle, blood that needs oxygen and blood that has oxygen are mixed, usually from an opening between the lower heart chambers. The blood vessel that takes blood to the lungs to get oxygen (the pulmonary artery) and the blood vessel that takes oxygen-rich blood to the body (the aorta) both receive blood from an enlarged left ventricle. The mixed blood that goes out into the body does not have the right amount of oxygen.
Ebstein anomaly occurs when there is a leak in the valve between the top and bottom of the right side of the heart. As a result, the heart pumps harder to push the blood where it needs to go and can eventually wear out and become weak.
Eisenmenger syndrome occurs when a congenital heart disease causes irregular blood flow in the heart and lungs. The blood vessels in the lungs respond by becoming thick and stiff. As a result, the heart must pump harder to move blood through the lungs, which can cause the heart to eventually wear out and become weak.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy occurs when the heart chambers that pump blood out of the heart become thick and stiff, making them ineffective at pumping blood.
In HLHS, any or all the heart structures that are needed to pump oxygen-rich blood out to the body are underdeveloped or too small to be effective.
In HRHS, any or all the heart structures that are needed to receive blood from the body and send it to the lungs to collect oxygen are underdeveloped or too small to be effective.
IAA occurs when a vessel that should branch off the aorta (the main blood vessel bringing oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the body) is instead joined with the pulmonary artery, which brings oxygen-poor blood to the lungs. Organ tissues downstream of the disjointed blood vessel will not receive the oxygen-rich blood they need to function.
Kawasaki disease causes swelling in small to medium sized blood vessels. It can affect the coronary arteries, limiting their supply of blood to the heart muscles.
Long QT syndrome is a subtle change in the electrical conduction of the heart rhythm that carries an increased risk of converting from the heart’s normal rhythm to a dangerous abnormal rhythm.
In Marfan syndrome, the connective tissue does not develop properly. Connective tissue is the material that holds different parts of the body together, like ligaments anchoring muscle to bone. Because of weak connective tissue, some people with Marfan syndrome are at risk for aortic dissection, a potentially lethal condition that occurs when the layers of the wall of the aorta (the blood vessel that carries oxygen-rich blood to the body) split apart.
Mitral stenosis is a narrowing of the valve between the two chambers of the heart that hold oxygen-rich blood and pump it out to the body. In mitral stenosis, less blood moves through the heart to the body. Instead, it builds up in the top of the heart and the lungs.
PAPVC occurs when some of the blood vessels that bring oxygen-rich blood to the heart connect to the part of the heart that pumps blood back to the lungs rather than the part of the heart that pumps blood to the body where it is needed.
PDA occurs when there is an opening directly between the blood vessel that takes blood to the lungs (pulmonary artery) and the blood vessel that takes blood to the body (the aorta). This results in mixing of oxygen-rich blood with oxygen-poor blood and a lower concentration of oxygen delivered to the body.
The atria are two top chambers of the heart: One holds blood that has oxygen, and one holds blood that needs oxygen. In a PFO, the opening between these two chambers that is necessary for fetal blood flow does not appropriately close after birth. As a result, the mixed blood that goes out to the body does not carry the right amount of oxygen.
At the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program, we have the expertise needed to help you understand how your specific congenital heart disease may be affected by pregnancy and what options are available to you as you plan for a family.
In pulmonary atresia, the usual opening between the heart and the lungs is replaced with a wall of tissue. Babies can survive initially if there are other openings, such as a patent foramen ovale or patent ductus arteriosus, that can allow blood to flow to the lungs. Newborns with this condition require intervention soon after birth.
In pulmonary stenosis, the valve between the heart and the lungs is stiff and it is difficult for the heart to pump blood into the lungs to receive oxygen. As a result, the right side of the heart must pump harder and may eventually become worn out or too thick to work well.
SS is a disorder of both the right lung and the blood vessels that bring blood to the lung to get oxygen and back to the heart, this syndrome is named for the scimitar shape of the unusual pulmonary vein. The heart is often found in the right side of the chest rather than the left. Symptoms can be mild or severe.
Shone’s syndrome (also known as Shone’s complex and Shone’s anomaly) is a constellation of blockages on the left side of the heart that impede the flow of oxygen-rich blood out of the heart and to the body. Coarctation of the aorta, hypoplastic left heart, mitral valve disease and aortic stenosis can all be involved.
A single ventricle defect occurs when only one of the two large chambers at the base of the heart has developed enough to pump blood effectively.
Babies born with ToF have four specific changes to normal heart anatomy, all of which work together to prevent oxygen-rich blood from flowing out to the body. The four changes are: ventricular septal defect, pulmonary stenosis, an overly muscular right ventricle and an aorta (the blood vessel that takes oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the body) that connects to the heart at the location of the ventricular septal defect.
TAPVC occurs when the blood vessels that bring oxygen-rich blood to the heart connect to the part of the heart that pumps blood back to the lungs rather than the part of the heart that pumps blood to the body where it is needed. These children usually have an atrial septal defect as well, so that some blood can go to the other side of the heart and out to the body.
In transposition of the great arteries, instead of flowing from the lungs to the body, blood gets caught in limited loops. Oxygen-rich blood from the lungs goes back to the lungs and oxygen-poor blood from the body returns to the body. These babies survive due to other heart defects, such as atrial septal defect or ventricular septal defect, that allow blood from each separate loop to mix, but they will need surgical repair early in life.
Tricuspid atresia occurs when the usual opening between the upper and lower chambers of the right heart is replaced with a wall of tissue. As a result, the oxygen-poor blood returning from the body is unable to get to the lungs to receive oxygen and then move out to the body.
In truncus arteriosus, the blood vessel that takes blood out to the body and the blood vessel that takes blood to the lungs to receive oxygen have one common opening. As a result, the amount of oxygen in the blood going out to the body is less than is needed.
The ventricles are two bottom chambers of the heart. One holds blood that has oxygen, and one holds blood that needs oxygen. In ventricular septal defect, there is an abnormal gap between these two chambers. As a result, the mixed blood that goes out to the body does not carry the right amount of oxygen.
WPW syndrome is a heart defect in which some electrical conductive circuits bypass the mechanism in the heart that prevents fast heart rhythms. As a result, people with WPW are at increased risk for dangerous heart rhythms that are usually fast and irregular.
