Texas Children's Hospital ranks #3 nationally in cardiology and heart surgery among nation's best pediatric institutions by U.S. News & World Report

HOUSTON, July 24, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Texas Children's Hospital has again been recognized as a national leader in cardiology and heart surgery among pediatric hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. Texas Children's Heart Center ranks 3^rd nationally in their Best Children's Hospitals 2013-14 survey for the second consecutive year. To learn more about Texas Children's Heart Center please visit texaschildrens.org/heart.

For more than 50 years, Texas Children's Heart Center has been a pioneering leader in cardiac care, treating more than 17,000 children with congenital heart defects and performing more than 800 surgeries annually. The Heart Center team, led by Dr. Charles D. Fraser Jr., chief of congenital heart surgery, Dr. Daniel J. Penny, chief of cardiology, Dr. Emad Mossad, chief of cardiovascular anesthesia, and Dr. Lara Shekerdemian, chief of critical care, combines cutting-edge technology with compassion and a family-centered approach.

"We are always striving to offer the best treatments possible to the families who entrust their children to our care," said Fraser, who is also surgeon-in-chief at Texas Children's Hospital and professor of surgery and pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM). "It is an honor to again be recognized for providing advanced cardiac interventions and surgical treatment options that result in exceptional outcomes for our patients."

Texas Children's Heart Center cardiologists and surgeons are world-renowned leaders in pediatric cardiology, congenital heart surgery and cardiovascular anesthesiology, and offer every procedure available for the treatment of pediatric heart diseases and defects for children of all ages, including preterm and low-birth-weight newborns. Some of the services offered by the Heart Center include cardiac catheterization, electrophysiology, diagnostic and cardiac imaging, adult congenital heart disease treatment, congenital heart surgery, cardiac nursing, cardiac critical care (cardiovascular intensive care unit) and heart transplantation.

"As cardiologists, we are pleased to be able to offer less-invasive procedures to our patients," said Penny, who is also professor of pediatrics at BCM. "Our team of interventional cardiologists has support from catheterization lab nurses, technicians and other specialized team members who assist them in providing outstanding care for our patients before, during and after their cardiac procedures."

Cardiovascular surgery program at Texas Children's Hospital

Since its inception in 1984, the heart failure and cardiac transplantation programs in the Texas Children's Heart Center have become one of the largest and most successful programs in the world. Each year, a dedicated, multidisciplinary team which includes physicians, nurse coordinators and administrative personnel cares for more than 500 cardiomyopathy patients. When a transplant is not immediately available, a variety of circulatory support devices are used as a bridge to transplantation. Currently, Texas Children's Heart Center is able to offer a wide range of mechanical circulatory support devices, as well as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), to children whose hearts are failing: Maquet Rotaflow, Cardiac Assist Tandem Heart, Thoratec Paracorporeal VAD (ventricular assist device), Thoratec HeartMate II, Berlin Heart EXCOR, Heartware LVAD and Syncardia Total Artificial Heart.

In 2004, the Heart Center team implanted the first MicroMed/DeBakey ChildVAD. Last year, Texas Children's became the world's first pediatric hospital to complete the first and second phase of certification to implant the SynCardia Total Artificial Heart as a bridge to transplant.

The Texas Children's Heart Center is committed to consistently achieving outcomes that are among the best in the nation. As part of this commitment, Texas Children's has a dedicated Surgical Outcomes Center devoted to tracking clinical outcomes and optimizing care. We are transparent in sharing our outcomes and passionately advocate for care where optimal results are achieved.

Cardiology program at Texas Children's Hospital

The cardiology program at Texas Children's Heart Center offers a wide variety of services including specialized catheterization labs where interventional cardiologists use minimally invasive procedures to repair certain heart defects, often sparing children from open heart surgery. Electrophysiologists offer the most advanced arrhythmia and pacing services for patients with heart rhythm abnormalities. Also, Texas Children's is the only freestanding pediatric hospital in the nation with a remote magnetic navigation system known as stereotaxis for precise catheter manipulation to difficult-to-reach areas of a child's heart. The system's magnet guides a thin, flexible wire to the exact location in a child's heart where physicians can ablate the problem area, often curing the child of the arrhythmia and giving them a chance to resume normal play or sports activities that were once restricted.

Specialized care for adults

Over the past 50 years, advancements in the diagnosis and surgical treatment of congenital heart defects have greatly improved the prognosis for pediatric heart patients. In the United States, the number of adults with congenital heart defects (CHD) now exceeds 1 million people and increases by approximately five percent each year. In response to this growing trend, Texas Children's launched its Adult Congenital Heart Program to address patients' needs as they grow into adulthood. These dedicated physicians, trained in both pediatric and adult heart disease, work closely with teenagers and adults to help them understand their heart condition, identify the medications they take and for what reason, and help patients take ownership of their own cardiac care.

In addition to Texas Children's Heart Center #3 ranking, Texas Children's Hospital is ranked 4^th among all children's hospitals nationally and one of only 10 hospitals to achieve the Honor Roll designation by U.S. News & World Report. Texas Children's is also the only hospital in Texas – and the entire Southern region of the U.S. – awarded this distinction.

For more information, visit www.usnews.texaschildrens.org.

About Texas Children's Hospital
Texas Children's Hospital, a not-for-profit organization, is committed to creating a community of healthy children through excellence in patient care, education and research. Consistently ranked among the top children's hospitals in the nation, Texas Children's has recognized Centers of Excellence in multiple pediatric subspecialties including the Cancer and Heart Centers, and operates the largest primary pediatric care network in the country. Texas Children's has completed a $1.5 billion expansion, which includes the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute; Texas Children's Pavilion for Women, a comprehensive obstetrics/gynecology facility focusing on high-risk births; and Texas Children's Hospital West Campus, a community hospital in suburban West Houston.  For more information on Texas Children's, go to www.texaschildrens.org. Get the latest news from Texas Children's by visiting the online newsroom and on Twitter at twitter.com/texaschildrens.

Contact: Lindsey Fox
832-824-2040
[email protected]

SOURCE Texas Children's Hospital