Cardiac surgery on infants has seen many advances in the past two decades, notably the ability to perform increasingly complex reconstructive surgery on small babies and the introduction of less invasive techniques that improve outcomes and leave less scarring.

Cedars-Sinai has been a leader in developing and adopting these newer techniques for infant heart surgery. Since 1988, we have seen a steady increase in referrals for pediatric heart surgery. State-of-the-art surgical procedures are provided by three full-time pediatric heart surgeons and a support staff dedicated to pediatric heart surgery.

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center was the first in the western United States to perform video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) in the treatment of patients with patent ductus arteriosus and vascular rings. VATS results in smaller, more cosmetic incisions, less pain and faster recoveries. Cases involving complex heart defects, such as children born with a single heart chamber, are being treated with staged reconstructive surgery. Through a series of operations, we are able to reconstruct the hearts of these tiny infants so that the majority experience no symptoms by the time they reach grade school.

The program's medical services range from minimally invasive procedures to innovative surgical techniques, including neonatal heart repair, surgical correction of the heart chamber, pulmonary autografts (replacing the aortic valve with the patient's own lung valve), artery repair and heart transplantations.

Among the division's pediatric specialists are perinatologists, neonatologists, medical geneticists and cardiac surgeons, as well as social workers to help patients' families cope with the special challenges of pediatric heart disease.