Pediatrics and Pediatric Cardiology

Child Interventional Cardiology

Interventional cardiology is truly the future of heart care for children and adults, allowing complex procedures to be successfully completed while leaving the patient with a Band-Aid, rather than a scar. Interventional cardiology is an internally recognized program that provides a full spectrum of diagnostic and interventional cardiac catheterization procedures for the child health. Many children with heart defects can now be treated with interventional or therapeutic cardiac catheterization procedures rather than having to go through heart surgery.

Balloon Valvotomy: An interventional catheterization technique in which an uninflated balloon is placed across a narrowed valve inside the heart. The balloon is inflated while situated across the narrowed valve, increasing the area available for blood flow and decreasing the degree of obstruction. Nearly all balloon valve dilations result in some degree of valve leakiness after the procedure.

Balloon Angioplasty: An invasive catheterization procedure where a narrowed portion of a blood vessel (e.g., coarctation of the aorta, pulmonary artery stenosis) is enlarged by inflating a balloon that straddles the narrowed segment. Severe coarctation of the aorta or pulmonary artery narrowings resemble an hourglass. The balloon dilation intentionally tears part of the wall of the blood vessel.

Stents: Cylindrical metal devices that are placed on a balloon catheter, and are used to enlarge narrowed areas of blood vessels or the airway. When expanded, stents have the appearance of a "chicken wire" cylinder, and resist collapsing. When non-expanded, the stents are long and thin and can be used in blood vessels.