Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Services

We provide the most innovative care available for children with heart conditions present at birth or that occur after birth. As a leading heart center, we routinely provide advanced cardiac support, including extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and external ventricular assist device support for younger children and implantable (LVAD) support for older children. In addition, our team has experience in treating adults with congenital heart disease at much older ages.

Medical and surgical advances have ensured that the majority of children born with congenital heart disease will thrive in adulthood. Ensuring a smooth transition from pediatric cardiology to adult care and providing a comprehensive approach to congenital cardiac care in adulthood is our specialty.

Our Adult Congenital Heart Program, a Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford and Stanford Hospital & Clinics collaboration, provides a unique approach to care with a team of clinicians and cardiothoracic surgeons who specialize in caring for adolescents and adults with congenital heart disease. We offer a comprehensive approach to care for the full spectrum of congenital heart disease. This expertise has been recognized by both Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford and Stanford Hospital & Clinics being nationally ranked in Cardiology and Heart Surgery by U.S. News & World Report consistently over the last decade.

Our world-renowned Pediatric Heart Surgery team offers life-changing treatments that result in the very best outcomes. This has led to Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford being nationally ranked #8 in Cardiology and Heart Surgery by U.S. News & World Report and the highest ranked in Northern California for a decade. Many of our leading-edge procedures, such as unifocalization, were developed by our Stanford Medicine surgeons. We’re also advancing efforts in less-invasive techniques.

Combined with state-of-the-art diagnostics, our advanced approaches allow us to address heart defects earlier and in the youngest patients to date — including in utero — giving more children the best chance to grow up healthy. From leading research to nurturing kid-friendly care, we’re devoted to being the very best place for children living with heart conditions.

The world’s first successful pediatric heart transplant was performed in 1984 at Stanford Hospital. We continue to play a pivotal role in developing innovations in pediatric heart transplantation through our Heart Center, which is recognized by U.S. News & World Report, ranking #8 nationally and the highest ranked in Northern California for a decade.

Recent accomplishments include reducing and preventing heart transplant coronary artery disease, understanding how viral infections affect the transplanted organ, and using non-invasive molecular testing to determine a patient’s risk for rejections. In addition to these advances, our doctors are testing a new generation of drug treatments that can help avoid the need for a transplant in children with heart failure. Learn more about our treatment and options.

Our Pediatric Advanced Cardiac Therapies program offers a full range of circulatory assist devices as alternatives or bridges to transplantation. We offer leading expertise in the use of the Berlin Heart as a bridge to life-saving treatment, as well as other artificial circulatory assist devices such as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy, the Thoratec paracorporeal ventricular assist device (PVAD) and the HeartMate II.