1st Texas pediatric partial heart transplant performed at Dell Children's
AUSTIN, Texas - Doctors at Dell Children's Medical Center recently performed the first pediatric partial heart transplant in Texas.
The surgery on 11-month-old Elias Robinson-Rodriguez is only the seventh known transplant of this kind in the world. This was also Elias's third open-heart surgery.
The landmark 11-hour surgery was performed on June 23 at The Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease at Dell Children’s, in partnership with UT Health Austin.
In a partial heart transplant, valves are procured from a donor heart not suitable for full transplantation. The goal is to allow the harvested living valves to grow with the pediatric patient over time, potentially increasing life expectancy, says Dell Children's.
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Elias was born with a congenital heart defect called transposition of the great arteries with obstruction of the part of the heart that pumps blood to the body.
Despite prior surgery, the valve between the lower left heart chamber and the aorta was narrowed and didn’t open fully, says Dell Children's. This reduced or blocked blood flow from the heart to the aorta and to the rest of the body.
Dell Children's says that following the June 23 surgery, Elias is showing remarkable improvement and his outlook remains strong.
Only three other U.S. institutions have performed this kind of transplant in the past: Duke University, Columbia University and Medical University of South Carolina.