How is surgery performed on pediatric patients?
A. Minimally invasive surgical techniques which have been used widely in adult cardiac surgery are now being applied to infants and children with results that are comparable to standard procedures. These techniques avoid the traditional splitting of the breastbone characteristic of standard open-heart surgery by performing the surgery through a much smaller incision through the ribs, sparing patients the pain and trauma of open-chest surgery. This approach speeds recovery so that children can return to school and play much sooner, often within a week after open heart surgery.
