OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital is the only place in Oregon where you’ll find three highly skilled surgeons who often repair children’s hearts in pairs.

We also offer:

• A dedicated surgical team of children’s heart specialists available 24/7.
• Surgeons who use advanced imaging tools and 3D models to plan procedures step by step.
• A Level 1 center for children’s surgery, as designated by the American College of Surgeons.
• The possibility of bloodless surgery.
• A commitment to excellence and transparency that includes published surgical outcomes.

Careful planning: Our team meets weekly with specialists from Doernbecher and across OHSU to plan the most effective surgical care. If we find your baby’s heart defect before birth, we will work with your prenatal team to plan any surgery needed after delivery.

Your child’s team will include:

• Children’s heart surgeons
• Pediatric heart doctors (cardiologists)
• Pediatric anesthesiologists
• Physician associates, nurse practitioners, certified operating-room nurses and technicians
• Heart-lung machine specialists (perfusionists)
• Respiratory therapists
• Dietitians
• Imaging specialists (radiologists)
• Speech-language/feeding pathologists
• Physical and occupational therapists

Child-focused care: Everyone on our heart surgery team provides the highest level of care to patients and their families. Our experts are specially trained to understand the needs of babies through young adults. Our operating rooms, intensive care unit and imaging rooms are designed for your child’s comfort and safety.

What to expect

One-on-one meetings with surgeons: We set aside time each month for in-person consultations with our surgeons. They will talk with you about the best options for treating your child. You will also have the option of meeting with other members of our surgical team.

Streamlined scheduling: A nurse will help you schedule all your child’s pre-surgery tests and appointments. After your child’s surgery date is set, the nurse will go over what to expect.

Frequent communication:

• The day before surgery, you will meet with our team to go over details and how to prepare.
• During surgery, an operating room nurse will give you hourly updates.
• After the operation, your surgeon will see you as soon as possible to talk about the results and next steps for recovery.
• You will be able to contact your child’s surgeon and/or care team before and after surgery with any questions or concerns that come up.

Children’s anesthesia

We have a team of anesthesiologists who specialize in caring for children with heart conditions. They work closely with the rest of the surgical team to plan and provide the right sedation or anesthesia for your child. The team is available 24/7.

Heart and lung support

Bypass: Most children need an external bypass machine to take over temporarily for their heart and lungs during heart surgery. At least two bypass specialists (perfusionists) will be in the operating room to monitor your child during surgery.

ECMO: After surgery, we can support your child’s heart and lungs if needed during recovery. Our ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) specialists include nurses and respiratory therapists with extra training and experience in children’s heart and lung support. We are a Center of Excellence in Life Support, the top honor given by the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization.

Reinforced Ross procedure

Doernbecher is among elite U.S. hospitals with the expertise to offer this groundbreaking technique for older children. Surgeons replace a stiff or leaky aortic valve with the child’s own pulmonary valve, then reinforce it with a sleeve. This procedure, first described at OHSU, can prevent long-term complications.

Bloodless surgery and direct donation

We use many strategies to prevent bleeding and to conserve your child’s blood during surgery. We also offer:

• Bloodless surgery: Some surgeries can be done without any transfusion. OHSU’s Bloodless Surgery and Medicine Team includes our chief pediatric heart surgeon, Dr. Irving Shen. The team is dedicated to caring for patients who don’t want a transfusion for religious or other reasons.
• Direct donation: We can help arrange for relatives or friends to give blood for your child’s surgery.

Intensive care

Our Pediatric Intensive Care Unit provides advanced care for your child after surgery.

Our ICU includes doctors certified in children’s critical care (intensivists) on duty 24/7. We also have dedicated cardiac intensive care nurses. Our team will give your child the highest quality care around the clock.