Ross Ungerleider, MD, MBA, chief of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery at UH Rainbow, checks on a newborn who recently underwent surgery to correct a congenital heart defect.

The outlook for kids born with heart problems— known as congenital heart defects—is better than ever at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital. The pediatric experts provide babies, children and adolescents state-of-the-art care, which includes the latest surgical techniques and innovative approaches, combined with family-centered care, that protect kids’ overall health during and after surgery.

“We offer advanced cardiac surgery and, at the same time, focus on preserving the functions of other major organs,” says Ross Ungerleider, MD, MBA, chief of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery at UH Rainbow and director of the Congenital Heart Disease Center at the UH Harrington-McLaughlin Heart & Vascular Institute.

Surgical Expertise

UH Rainbow’s pediatric cardiac surgeons perform open-heart surgery to close holes in the heart, reroute blood flow, repair or replace diseased heart valves and treat other congenital heart defects. They also offer innovative procedures not available at all area hospitals.

For example, surgeons use the Ross procedure to correct defective aortic valves in some patients. Aortic valves play a vital role in pumping blood throughout the body. Surgeons replace diseased aortic valves with valves from the pulmonary sides of patients’ hearts and substitute cadaver valves for the pulmonary valves. They can also perform a series of complex surgeries to improve heart function in babies with hypoplastic left heart syndrome—a condition that occurs when the left sides of babies’ hearts are underdeveloped.

Preserving Major Organs

Unfortunately, certain heart surgeries can pose a risk to other major organs. For example, the use of traditional heart-lung machines, which support children’s breathing and oxygenate and circulate blood during open-heart surgery, can cause damage to those affected organs.

“Once we understood how heart-lung machines affected children’s brains, kidneys and lungs, we could make changes to reduce the likelihood of injuring these organs during surgery,” says Dr. Ungerleider, who is recognized nationally for his involvement in cutting-edge research that helped define new and better ways of using heart-lung machines during pediatric heart procedures.

Surgeons at UH Rainbow use a miniaturized heart-lung pump during open-heart surgery, which is much safer for children. An additional benefit is that the system doesn’t require the use of blood products and allows surgeons to control variables— such as the temperature, oxygenation levels and acid balance of the blood—which can have a negative impact on other organs.

“We provide individualized care for all our heart patients, and our goal is to protect children’s entire bodies, not just their hearts,” says Dr. Ungerleider.