COVER STORY · MAY 2018
THE HEART CENTER AT
DRISCOLL CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL:
Lifesaving Care for the Children of South Texas
W
hen you think about people who need cardiac care, you probably think about adults who have heart
problems. Echocardiograms, cardiac catheterizations, pacemakers, stents, open-heart surgery — these are
not things children need, are they? Yes, in many cases they are, and in South Texas thousands of babies,
children, and adolescents have received these and other types of cardiac services through The Heart Center at Driscoll
Children’s Hospital.
The Heart Center at Driscoll provides a full spectrum
of pediatric cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery
services for heart disease, always with the goal of getting
patients back to their families and local physicians as
soon as possible. The hospital has even been a pioneer in
pediatric cardiac care. Dr. James Duff performed the first
successful neonatal arterial switch operation in 1984 at
Driscoll Children’s Hospital on a two-week-old newborn,
who would not have been able to live long without the
surgery.
hospital in this region,” he said. “The administrative
leadership is highly supportive and makes sure we have
what we need to give the best care.” Many of Dr. Khan’s
cardiology colleagues around the country envy the timely
investments in technology that Driscoll has made to
provide the most advanced pediatric heart treatment.
The Heart Center includes surgical suites, intensive care
units, diagnostic testing, and the cath lab. In addition
to full-time, onsite cardiologists and cardiothoracic
surgeons, numerous
IT IS OUR PASSION TO PROVIDE LOCAL
During his 18 years at Driscoll,
other specialists and
PEDIATRIC CARDIAC CARE TO THE
Muhammad Khan, MD, FAAP,
subspecialists contribute
COMMUNITIES IN THE RIO GRANDE
FACC, FSCA, has seen The
to The Heart Center
VALLEY. WE VALUE OUR PARTNERSHIPS
Heart Center grow into a
team.
WITH OTHER LOCAL PROVIDERS AND
premier department
CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OUR SERVICES
with a large staff
Two members of
SO FAMILIES CAN AVOID TRAVELING
of high-caliber
the team, pediatric
UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.”
pediatric
cardiologists Alberto
ALBERTO MENDOZA PAREDES, MD, FAAP
specialists and
Mendoza Paredes, MD,
facilities.
FAAP, and Ngozi C. Agu, MD, live and work full-time in the
Rio Grande Valley. In addition to the Pediatric Cardiology
“Such high quality, sophisticated care
Clinic in McAllen, Driscoll Children’s Specialty Centers
is rare outside of the largest children’s
in Brownsville, Harlingen, and McAllen provide services
hospitals in major metropolitan areas,”
from many other Driscoll specialists. “It is our passion to
said Dr. Khan, Chief of Cardiology and
provide local pediatric cardiac care to the communities
Director of the Cardiac Catheterization in the Rio Grande Valley. We value our partnerships
(cath) Lab.
with other local providers and continue to develop our
services so families can avoid traveling unless absolutely
necessary,” said Dr. Mendoza Paredes.
HIGHLY SPECIALIZED CARE
FOR COMPLEX CONDITIONS
“Being a freestanding pediatric hospital Driscoll’s four pediatric cardiovascular anesthesiologists
are involved with a majority of Heart Center procedures,
allows Driscoll to focus all of its staff
and resources on caring for children,” from diagnostics to surgery. “Our job is to keep our
patients safe, comfortable, and pain-free before, during,
said The Heart Center medical
director Ross Ungerleider, MD, MBA. and after surgery and other procedures,” said Euleche
“Our advantages over hospitals with Alanmanou, MD, FAAP, chief of cardiovascular anesthesia.
That may sound simple, but it can be immensely complex
both adult and child services are
and sometimes requires two anesthesiologists working
critical, especially when it comes
together. The tiny size of some patients treated in The
to having the very specialized
equipment and medical staff needed Heart Center — such as extremely premature babies
weighing as little as 500 grams — is just one of the
to treat complex pediatric heart
complexities of pediatric anesthesiology.
problems.”
“
Dr. Khan echoed that thought.
“It is a blessing for the children
and families of South Texas to
have such an excellent pediatric
14 HEALTHY MAGAZINE
“During a procedure, we monitor the patient constantly
to protect and manage the function of vital organs,”
explained Dr. Alanmanou. “Our equipment is state-of-the-
art, and we have everything we need to get our patients
through what can be the roughest time of their lives.”