Pediatric Heart Surgery

At the Patel Children's Heart Institute at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital, we surgically manage all types of congenital and acquired heart defects from mild to highly complex, in children from newborns through adulthood.

Our congenital heart surgery program was established in 1995 and is the largest program in West Central Florida. In 2014, we partnered with UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, bringing the exceptional care and experience of one of the nation’s top ranking congenital heart programs to our patients at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital. Our local team of surgeons and intensivists are part of the larger group of physicians at UPMC who also provide support locally when needed.

Our team of experts routinely collaborate with UPMC physicians in Pittsburgh, giving our patients access, to some of the best collective medical minds in the nation. Each patient’s case is discussed in detail in order to create specialized treatment plans, tailored to the individual needs of the patient. Our multidisciplinary team includes board-certified pediatric cardiothoracic surgeons, pediatric cardiac anesthesiologists, pediatric cardiologists, pediatric cardiac intensivists, advanced practitioners and nurses, along with many others.

Through our shared knowledge and expertise, our team provides the highest quality heart care to our patients, and our surgical outcomes regularly exceed the national benchmarks reported by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS).