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Best Children's Hospitals: Heart and Heart Surgery
Filed under: Health & Safety: Babies, Medical Conditions, Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Health & Safety: Big Kids, Health & Safety: Tweens, Health & Safety: Teens, Health
Children's Hospital Boston has a 98.5 percent survival rate. Credit: Children's Hospital Boston
When your child is ill, only the best care is good enough. So we're highlighting the hospitals that are leading the way in research, innovation, treatment and, most importantly, patient care. This is the twelfth in the series on best children's hospitals in the United States.
Patricia Winning knows the statistics firsthand: One out of every 100 infants born in the United States is born with a congenital heart defect, making it the most commonly occurring birth defect.
Seventeen years ago, when Winning's son John was born, with his aorta in the wrong place, "It was a tremendous crisis," she recalls. The diagnosis prompted a desperate search "the old-fashioned way," through telephone books, trying to find the leading pediatric cardiac specialists and hospital to care for her infant.
Patricia Winning knows the statistics firsthand: One out of every 100 infants born in the United States is born with a congenital heart defect, making it the most commonly occurring birth defect.
Seventeen years ago, when Winning's son John was born, with his aorta in the wrong place, "It was a tremendous crisis," she recalls. The diagnosis prompted a desperate search "the old-fashioned way," through telephone books, trying to find the leading pediatric cardiac specialists and hospital to care for her infant.
Today, after a heart transplant and years of care, John is a healthy teen. And Winning has made it her full-time career to help parents whose infants are in a medical crisis receive the best care possible. As a senior vice president at Children's Medical Center in Dallas, Winning offers this advice to parents of significantly ill children, specifically to those whose child has a heart condition: "Find a hospital that is connected to a teaching institution with a heart center that has deep expertise in pediatric cardiac care. Then pick up the phone, ask for the physician on call and say: "What I want to know is how many heart transplants have you done? I want to understand what in depth research you have done."
To jumpstart the search, here are three of the leading heart and heart surgery hospitals in the United States:
Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, Mass.
Children's Hospital Boston has been at the forefront of pediatric heart surgery since 1938, when Robert Gross, M.D., performed the first operation to correct a congenital heart defect. With the largest pediatric cardiac surgery department in the United States, which performs surgery on more than 1,200 child patients annually, Children's of Boston boasts a survival rate of 98.5 percent. For the last few years, it has been named the No. 1 leader in children's heart care in the U.S. News report and one of the top hospitals in The Leapfrog Group's Hospital Survey. The hospital's surgery department is led by six top pediatric heart surgeons dedicated exclusively to patients with congenital heart disease, along with specially-trained cardiovascular nurses and technicians and a cardiac anesthesia team for children who are having heart surgery. In addition, three operating rooms are reserved specifically for heart surgeries, along with state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization laboratories and a 28-bed cardiac intensive care unit devoted solely to the critical care of child cardiac patients.
Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, Texas
The primary pediatric training site for Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital is one of the largest pediatric hospitals in the United States. Boasting a cardiovascular genetics clinic, it ranked No. 3 in heart surgery, and nationally in all 10 specialties, in the U.S. News & World Report survey. It was also named one of the top 10 in the Parents/NACHRI survey. The hospital's world-renowned pediatric cardiologists and surgeons lead 40 patient care centers. They care for more than 12,000 patients and perform more than 750 surgeries annually, with outcomes among the best in the nation.
The primary pediatric training site for Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital is one of the largest pediatric hospitals in the United States. Boasting a cardiovascular genetics clinic, it ranked No. 3 in heart surgery, and nationally in all 10 specialties, in the U.S. News & World Report survey. It was also named one of the top 10 in the Parents/NACHRI survey. The hospital's world-renowned pediatric cardiologists and surgeons lead 40 patient care centers. They care for more than 12,000 patients and perform more than 750 surgeries annually, with outcomes among the best in the nation.
University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, Ann Arbor, Mich.
This hospital ranks 4th for heart and heart surgery in the U.S. News survey and as one of the top 10 best children's hospitals in the Parents/NACHRI report for 2009. Serving as a national model for cardiac intensive care, C.S. Mott Children's Hospital also stands out for using a team approach that brings together parents, doctors, nurses, social workers, exercise physiologists and dietitians in the diagnosis, treatment, management and prevention of childhood heart disease. It also offers a wide variety of subspecialty clinics, ranging from heart transplant and congenital heart defects to arrhythmia and prenatal heart disease care.
Related: Best Children's Hospitals: Top 3, Best Children's Hospitals: Cancer, Best Children's Hospitals: Digestive and Liver Disorders, Best Children's Hospitals: Diabetes, Best Children's Hospitals: Respiratory Conditions, Best Children's Hospitals: Rehab, Best Children's Hospitals: Orthopedics, Best Children's Hospitals: Neurology, Best Children's Hospitals: Neonatology, Best Children's Hospitals: Urology and Kidney Diseases
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
8-21-2010 @ 11:18PM
Wanda said...My son, 19, also has a congenital heart defect, Aeortic Stenosis. He was followed since birth by his cardiologist and it was determined that he needed to have his aeortic valve replaced on June 2. He did very well and came home about a week later. Does anyone know of any websites where he could get in touch with other teens that have had the same surgery so he could ask them questions about his recovery? He hasn't really started to do aerobic excercising yet - I think he's a little nervous to try.
Are there foundations that help parents with the financial end? We have insurance, but it doesn't cover everything. He is a sophomore in college and his three older brothers are also in college, so needless to say, I have been searching on the internet for ideas.
This article proved that parents need other parents to help them know what to expect, what questions to ask, etc. Our pediatric surgeons were the greatest and I am very thankful that my son's surgery was sucessful!
Susan, I did check out your website but I didn't see anything about aeortic stenosis. Very helpful information - thank you.
Reply
8-22-2010 @ 2:59AM
john said...In 2007 my Grandson not yet a year old contracted a disease called "Kawasaki Disease". Symptons are a rash that takes over the whole body turning red. Extreme swelling, High temperature of 104 plus, tongue is red with white spots. The disease attacks the muscles of the body and the heart being a muscle is at risk. He developed blood clots in major arteries of the heart and as a result at nearly a year old under went a double bypass surgery at the Children's Hospital of Fresno California. His surgeon came from the University of California, San Francisco and performed an outstanding surgery that took more than (8) hours, saving the baby's life. However before he was 18 months old one of the arteries failed and developed anoher large blood clot that had to be removed so he had another by pass surgery. Even better results thanks to the doctor and the surgical team at the same hospital. The disease cleared out, he healed and is now enjoying being a normal healthy 4 year old who is very bright. I give credit to God for saving him and for using the doctor as the tool to get the job done. Every time I see this child I am so very thankfull that God saw fit to give him to us. I pray that whatever God has planned for him, that it is good and will help others. I think it will be because he is a very kind and giving child. But again it was done at a Childrens Hospital just in a different state than those listed but it shows you the calibre of the doctors and staff these hospitals attract.
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8-22-2010 @ 3:16AM
kathy said...we also have to give credit to STJude childrens hospital of memphis, tn
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8-22-2010 @ 8:29AM
MONICA P said...TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT ST.JOSEPH'S HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL CENTER IN PATERSON,N.J. BACK IN THE MID 50'S AS A CHILD THEY SAVED MY LIFE DUE TO AN EAR INFECTION.TODAY I WORK THERE AND THEY ARE STILL SAVING LIFE EVERYDAY.IT'S A GREAT HOSPITAL WITH CARING EMPLOYESS.
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9-04-2010 @ 8:14AM
tomthompsonisell4u said...i go on the internet for 10 best hospitals in california for heart surgery and i get this bullshit about a childrens hospital why are computers so screwed up and misleading.
Reply
9-09-2010 @ 1:57PM
Beth said...Children;s Healthcare of Atlanta-Egleston is great. When doing research for my son's CHD (in 1995), there were 3 places-Philadelphia (CHOP), Atlanta (Egleston), and Stanford. All 3 are still in the top 10.
Your surgeon matters more than you think. Also, your 'gut' feel for the surgeon matters. Just because someone is ranked #1, does not mean they are #1 for ALL types of issues. Many of these surgeons specialize and have their areas of research.
Good luck to all and God bless.
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