Nicklaus Children's Heart Institute First to Offer Innovative Heart Stent Designed for Babies

New FDA-approved Minima Stent grows with a child's heart, preventing the need for open heart surgeries

MIAMI, Aug. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Nicklaus Children's Hospital's Heart Institute is ushering in a new era of cardiac treatment for children across South Florida. Nicklaus Children's is the first hospital in South Florida to offer the latest innovative Minima Stent from Renata Medical, the first FDA-approved heart stent that expands as the child grows. This innovation gives new hope to babies and young children with congenital heart disease, helping them avoid repeated open-heart surgeries.

The Minima Stent is the first and only stent engineered for children's cardiovascular system. Unlike traditional stents, which are designed for adults and have limited expansion, the Minima Stent can be safely dilated as a child grows. This adaptability reduces the need for repeated surgical interventions to treat conditions such as coarctation of the aorta and branch pulmonary stenosis.

"This is an exciting milestone for the children of South Florida and around the country," said Dr. Sathanandam, chief of cardiovascular medicine and co-director of the Nicklaus Children's Heart Institute, who helped pioneer the technology alongside Renata Medical leaders. "When we created this technology, the goal was to address a long-standing gap in pediatric cardiology by providing a safe, expandable solution tailored to the unique needs of growing children. At Nicklaus Children's, we are proud to lead the way in bringing this transformative technology to South Florida."

The Minima Stent is designed for use in small blood vessels and can be expanded to adult size over time, offering long-term adaptability. This innovation represents a significant leap forward in the care of children with congenital heart disease.

"Up until now, we have had to adapt adult stents for children, exposing them to multiple procedures through adulthood," said Dr. Daniel Duarte Caceres, congenital interventional cardiologist and medical director of interventional cardiology at Nicklaus Children's Heart Institute. "The Minima Stent is purpose-built for our youngest and most fragile patients, giving us a tool that grows with them and spares them from repeated interventions. This represents a new era in how we care for children with congenital heart disease."

The Nicklaus Children's Heart Institute is internationally recognized for its expertise in pediatric cardiology and cardiac surgery, caring for thousands of children each year with congenital and acquired heart conditions.

The state-of-the art Pediatric and Congenital Catheterization Program at Nicklaus Children's Heart Institute is widely recognized as one of the world's leaders, utilizing the latest innovations in imaging and device technologies to perform both simple and complex interventions that can reduce – or even eliminate – the need for open-heart surgery.

For more information about Nicklaus Children's Heart Institute, visit www.nicklauschildrens.org/heart.

About Nicklaus Children's Hospital, Where Your Child Matters Most ™
Nicklaus Children's Hospital is South Florida's #1 nonprofit, freestanding specialty licensed hospital exclusively for children. With more than 850 physicians, including over 500 pediatric subspecialists, the hospital and its network of outpatient centers and offices serve close to 70 percent of children in the Miami market. The only hospital "where your child matters most™," Nicklaus Children's is home to the region's most advanced Kenneth C. Griffin Surgical Tower, and its centers of excellence Helen & Jacob Shaham Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute, the Nicklaus Children's Orthopedics, Sports Health and Spine Institute, Nicklaus Children's Neuroscience Institute and Nicklaus Children's Heart Institute. The Nicklaus Children's Hospital's Transfer Center, Nick4Kids, and LifeFlight are responsible for transporting and saving close to 5,000 lives a year. Our 325-bed hospital, which is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine, has many specialty programs routinely ranked among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report since 2008. Nicklaus Children's is also home to the largest pediatric teaching program in the southeastern United States and since 2003 has been designated an American Nursing Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet facility, the nursing profession's most prestigious institutional honor. For more information, please visit www.nicklauschildrens.org

For more information:
Alejandra Sanchez, PR Specialist
Nicklaus Children's Health System
[email protected]

SOURCE Nicklaus Children's Hospital