Phoenix Children Hospital’s heart transplant center is one of 2016’s busiest
Jan 27, 2017, 5:00 AM | Updated: 1:07 pm
(Twitter Photo)
PHOENIX — The Phoenix Children’s Hospital’s pediatric heart transplant center ranked as one of busiest in the country for 2016, performing a total of 24 transplants.
The Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients reports that 66.7 percent of child patients expecting transplants received new hearts in 30 days and 88.9 percent in a year.
The heart transplant team has developed innovative techniques to make safer transplants and mechanical circulatory support for children with advanced heart failure.
According to its website, the hospital has created an advanced 3D imaging technology to aid in surgical implantation planning and to help families understand their child’s condition.
“Volume is not our goal,” Dr. Steven Zangwill, director of transplantation, said in a press release. “We do our best not to go directly to transplant, and find alternative solutions when available.
“…our real goal is providing the best care for the children and young adults we see with advanced heart failure, whether or not transplantation is their best option.”
Phoenix Children’s Hospital was also nationally ranked 26th in the U.S. News and World Report’s best in pediatrics cardiology and heart surgeries.