A renewed congenital cardiac surgery service at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children Hospital provides internationally recognized expertise for the surgical treatment of pediatric heart disease.

In late 2008, UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital recruited Ross Ungerleider, MD, to head the surgical program. Dr. Ungerleider, Division Chief of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery, has been a dedicated congenital heart surgeon since 1986. He helped develop techniques for cardiopulmonary bypass that improve the long-term brain protection for babies undergoing heart surgery, and he developed improved surgical options for young adults with a variety of congenital heart defects.

Dr. Ungerleider began his career at Duke University where he rose to the position of chief of the pediatric heart surgery program and where he helped to create a nationally respected heart surgery program. In 2001 he became chief of cardiac surgery at Oregon Health & Science University. During his time in Oregon, he continued to train pediatric heart surgeons and created a nationally acclaimed environment for education, learning and excellence in patient care.

Dr Ungerleider's skills integrate with other UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital experts to enable the pediatric cardiac program to:

• Establish a reputation as a leader in applying heart lung machine technology to newborns and premature infants.
• Dr. Ungerleider and the perfusion team at UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital created miniaturized circuits that enable some infants to have heart surgery without blood transfusion.
• Dr. Ungerleider helped to create techniques that best protect the brains, lungs and kidneys of patients undergoing complex heart surgery.
• Become recognized for excellence in clinical outcomes.
• Dr. Ungerleider and his colleagues have published extensively on evaluating outcomes for congenital heart surgery programs. UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital will create processes to provide best practice, even for those infants with the most complex heart defects who might be refused surgery elsewhere.
• UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital will emphasize the multidisciplinary nature of best practice, which involves and engages specialists across various disciplines (such as cardiology, anesthesiology, critical care medicine, nursing, perfusion, etc.).
• Provide unique and new procedures that may not be available elsewhere.
• Dr. Ungerleider is experienced with certain forms of aortic valve replacement (such as the Ross operation which enables a patient to have their aortic valve replaced with a living, transplanted valve from the other side of their heart) and has developed techniques to improve long-term outcomes.
• Dr. Ungerleider pioneered techniques of postoperative management to improve the outcomes of infants who undergo reconstructions for a variety of complex forms of heart disease (Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and other types of single ventricle), which elevates the risk for brain injury.
• Dr. Ungerleider's vast experience as a pediatric heart surgeon has created an atmosphere of confidence and competence in the pediatric heart surgery program which now offers several new surgeries and techniques for treatment children and young adults.

The pediatric heart surgery program uses a collaborative effort across multiple disciplines to care for children with congenital heart disease who present as young adults who need further surgery.

Patients who come to UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital's congenital heart surgery program will benefit from experienced judgment and decision making, outstanding and unique surgical skills, and an environment that fosters collaboration and teamwork.

To contact Dr. Ungerleider for consultation or patient referral, please call 216-844-3058.