Nicklaus Children's Hospital's Heart Institute Performs Florida's First Partial Heart Transplant

Among Nation's First Programs to Offer the Innovative Procedure to Treat Valve Deformities in Children

MIAMI, April 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The cardiovascular surgery team at Nicklaus Children's Hospital's Heart Institute has successfully performed the first partial heart transplant in the state of Florida on a 11-year-old patient. With an implanted "living valve," the procedure is designed to prevent the need for future open-heart surgeries because the valve will grow with the child as they age.

In this major surgical innovation, the living valve of a donor's heart is implanted into a patient, which allows the living valve to grow with the child. This is an alternative to prosthetic valves that do not have the capability to grow as the patient matures. Traditionally used animal-derived and mechanical prosthetic valves deteriorate over time or require the daily use of blood thinners. These non-living valves also need to be replaced over time, leading to additional open-heart surgeries, and are associated with a decreased survival rate after implantation.

This breakthrough procedure was led by Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery, Co-director of the Nicklaus Children's Heart Institute as well as Professor and Researcher at the FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Dr. David Kalfa. The partial heart transplant highlights Dr. Kalfa as a pioneer in the development and clinical application of living heart valve implants for children.

"Partial heart transplants are redefining what's possible in pediatric heart surgery. By transplanting a living valve, we are not just repairing a defect. We are restoring function in a way that allows the heart to grow naturally," said Dr. Kalfa. "Our goal is to move beyond temporary solutions like prosthetic materials and provide children with long-lasting, life-changing outcomes."

Greyson, the 11-year-old patient who underwent the procedure, had two additional heart surgeries as a baby prior to coming to Nicklaus Children's. His family is hopeful that he will not require another open-heart surgery in the future thanks to this innovative procedure.

"Going in for a second opinion is what brought me to Nicklaus Children's and Dr. Kalfa with his years of expertise and research in the field, and I am so grateful for that," says, Piera Archila, Greyson's mother. "Greyson underwent open-heart surgery in New York and has since been to a few other children's hospitals in Florida and outside the state in search for answers for his condition. Nicklaus Children's offered something unique in that Greyson can now grow up without needing another open-heart surgery."

Congenital heart defects are the most common birth defects, affecting nearly 1% of newborns in the U.S., or about 40,000 infants. Of those infants born with CHD, half will need an operation to fix or replace a valve.

Dr. Kalfa's work is supported in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health in collaboration with FIU, advancing research and clinical innovation in partial heart transplantation and pediatric valve preservation techniques.

Nicklaus Children's Hospital is ranked among the nation's "Best Children's Hospitals" by U.S. News & World Report, with seven specialty ranked programs, including Nicklaus Children's Heart Institute ranked the #1 heart program for children in South Florida.

About Nicklaus Children's Health System Where Your Child Matters Most™ 
For more than 75 years, Nicklaus Children's Health System has stood as a beacon of hope for children and families across the state of Florida and beyond. Nicklaus Children's Hospital is South Florida's #1 nonprofit, freestanding specialty licensed hospital exclusively for children. Nicklaus Children's provides pediatric care across a growing network of hospital and community-based partnerships, including care within NCH North Hospital in Naples, Jupiter Medical Center, select Baptist Health Hospital pediatric emergency units, and Nicklaus Children's Hospital Fort Lauderdale and Nicklaus Children's Hospital Coral Springs each located on the campuses of Broward Health. The hospitals and their network of more than 35 outpatient care locations offer lifesaving care in Miami-Dade, Broward, Martin and Palm Beach counties. outpatient locations include an array of urgent care, pediatric primary care and subspecialty care centers and are either hospital-based or outpatient locations under Nicklaus Children's Pediatric Specialists, LLC (NCPS).Providing a pipeline of future physicians and groundbreaking research, Nicklaus Children's is an academic and clinical affiliate of the Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. Nicklaus Children's is home to centers of excellence including the Helen & Jacob Shaham Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute, the Nicklaus Children's Orthopedic, Sports Medicine and Spine Institute, Nicklaus Children's Neuroscience Institute and Nicklaus Children's Heart Institute. The 474-bed system is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine, with many programs routinely ranked among the nation's best by U.S. News & World Report since 2008. Nicklaus Children's also includes a nonprofit physician practice subsidiary with more than 40 pediatric specialties and an ambulatory surgery center. For more information, visit nicklauschildrens.org.

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

SOURCE Nicklaus Children's Hospital