St. Joseph's Children's Hospital First in Southeast United States to Implant New Cardiac Stent Designed for Infants

The Patel Children’s Heart Institute at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital is the first in the southeastern United States and one of only a handful of programs in the world to implant a new stent specifically created to enlarge narrowed blood vessels in the hearts of newborns and babies. The Renata Minima stent is the first and only stent small enough to be used in newborns with the capacity to be enlarged as a child grows to adulthood, reducing the need for multiple open-heart surgeries.  
 
“Stents are mesh tubes that help keep arteries open and blood flowing,” said Dr. Jeremy Ringewald, pediatric cardiologist and director of the cardiac catheterization laboratories at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital. “Until now, adult stents needed to be altered to fit a baby’s tiny vessels and then replaced as they grow older.” 

Dr. Ringewald performed the Minima stent procedure on 14-month-old Layla Lebovic, who was born with tetralogy of Fallot, pulmonary atresia and major aorto-pulmonary collaterals. Her complex congenital cardiac condition is a combination of multiple defects including a large hole between the bottom chambers of the heart, an absent connection between the right ventricle and main pulmonary artery and abnormal pulmonary artery branches.   

During Layla’s procedure, Dr. Ringewald advanced several sequential Minima stents through a vein in her leg to her right pulmonary artery. Once deployed, her pulmonary artery was enlarged to five times its size. The procedure was a success, and Layla was discharged after only one day.  
 
“We are so grateful to Dr. Ringewald and the entire St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital cardiac team for the incredible care Layla received,” said Laura Lebovic, Layla’s mother. “She’s thriving and growing every day, and we’re so happy with the outcome of her procedure.” 

The Minima stent is only 1.3 millimeters or 3/64 of an inch in diameter, about the size of a cocktail straw. Dr. Ringewald notes this first-of-its-kind stent is far easier to advance and deploy compared with other stents due to its small size, which markedly diminishes procedural risk.  

“The Minima stent is a paradigm shift for treating infants with congenital heart defects. It’s what we’ve needed for years, and now we have it,” Dr. Ringewald said. “The use of this stent is an example of how our heart institute is at the cutting edge when it comes to adopting new technology, allowing our patients to benefit from every advance in our field.”  

The Patel Children’s Heart Institute at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital is home to Tampa Bay’s only comprehensive congenital heart disease program. Its team of cardiac physicians performs hundreds of procedures each year to treat heart defects in patients of every age. A partnership between St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital and UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh provides families across Florida with unprecedented access to the highest level of pediatric heart care. Together, they provide highly specialized cardiovascular care for patients ranging from babies in the womb to adults with congenital heart disease.