The opening of the Guerin Family Congenital Heart Program in the Smidt Heart Institute 10 years ago resulted in one of the world’s very few entities offering the full spectrum of care for congenital heart disease patients, all in one place, with continuity in the medical and surgical teams from infancy to adulthood. We offer not only fetal diagnostic services, but also complex cardiac imaging, advanced catheter interventions and cutting-edge clinical research programs.

Our physicians have pioneered hybrid procedures that combine surgery and cardiac catheterization, reducing the need for complex and risky open-heart surgeries. As our young patients with congenital heart disease age, they benefit from a robust continuum of care with access to our adult congenital team and a broad range of services, from cardio-obstetrics expertise to a congenital cardiac intensive care unit that supports ECMO and ventricular-assist devices, advanced heart failure therapies, mechanical-assist devices and heart transplantation.

A STENT FOR LIFE

With FDA approval of both the Cedars-Sinai-invented patent ductus arteriosus closure device and the Alterra expandable valve enabling reconfiguration of “native” right ventricular outflow tracts, the Smidt Heart Institute is now pioneering investigations into a “stent for life.” It’s an extraordinary tool for pediatric cardiologists: a stent small enough for safe use in babies but flexible enough to expand with growing vessels as children age into adulthood.

The Renata Minima stent, created from an expandable cobalt chromium mesh, maintains its strength throughout its full diameter range of 2.0 to 22.0 millimeters. A promising feasibility study has resulted in approval of a multicenter pivotal trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the stent for use in neonates, infants and young children with congenital vascular stenosis. If approved, this stent could prevent many growth-related reoperations for congenital heart disease patients around the world.

RELEVANT RECENT PUBLICATIONS

DKS reconstruction and LPA size, Annals of Thoracic Surgery; PMID: 36113562

Preliminary testing and evaluation of the Renata Minima stent, an infant stent capable of achieving adult dimensions, Catheter Cardiovascular Intervention; PMID: 33942962

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Jacqueline Avalon was born with ventricular septal defect. She's now a nurse at Cedars-Sinai. Click below to watch a video about the care she received at the Guerin Family Congenital Heart Program in the Smidt Heart Institute.