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Cardiac Surgery
Heart Transplant Programs
We have a rich history of developing innovative surgical treatments that set the standard in pediatric cardiac surgery. In 1984, our surgeons performed the world's first successful pediatric heart transplant, giving the gift of life to a four-year-old boy. In the intervening years, more than 360 children have received new hearts at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital. Today, NewYork-Presbyterian is one of the largest and most successful pediatric heart transplant centers in North America and the world -- largely due to the dedication and expertise of our heart transplant team, the use of assist devices in managing heart failure, and the application of novel immunosuppression protocols.
The Hospital also has a leadership role in the Pediatric Heart Transplant Study Group, which consists of 23 institutions across North America and is responsible for a significant proportion of multi-institutional research related to pediatric heart transplantation today.
Ventricular Assist Devices (VADs) -- Our cardiac surgeons are at the forefront of developing and designing ventricular assist devices for infants and small children as a bridge to recovery or transplantation. Leaders in research into alternatives for transplants, we are among the first in the United States to implant a Berlin Heart EXCOR heart pump into a newborn, and currently use a variety of devices to help right, left, or biventricular failure in patients from infants to young adults. Notably, we have the largest pediatric experience in the U.S. with the PediMag (Levitronix) device.
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) -- ECMO is a short-term cardiac assist device for the very young, or in children whose anatomy will not permit a ventricular assist device (VAD). The Center's physicians participated in the earliest development of ECMO, making our facility one of the first in the world to use this life-saving technology successfully in children.
