Our services
Blood, heart and circulation
Congenital Cardiac Services
Children's congenital cardiac services
Meet the children's congenital cardiac team
Our facilities
Accommodation for family members
Diagnosis and treatment
Meet the patients: Cora Banyard
Meet the patients: Ella Maxey
Contact Ocean ward
Preparing your child for admission to Ocean ward
A day on Ocean Ward - photos and a Twitter commentary
Further information
Children's heart surgery review

A to Z of UHSFT

 
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Diagnosis and treatment

The department sees babies and children who are referred to them following outpatient appointments as well as emergency patients.

Working with cardiac colleagues, the department carries out diagnostic tests to establish the cause of any suspected heart problems. These tests may include:

  • ECG
  • Chest x-ray
  • Echocardiogram
  • MRI scan
  • Cardiac catheter

If there is an abnormality, your child may undergo treatment, which may include:

  • Minor treatments – such as surgery to correct a heart valve abnormality or small holes in the heart
  • Major treatments – including catheter (or keyhole) procedures and heart surgery

Catheter procedures

catheter lab 2The department performs around 200 catheter operations a year on people with congenital heart problems.

A catheter is a fine, hollow, plastic tube. It can be inserted into your vein or artery either in the groin or the arm and guided through the blood vessels.

It can be used to take pictures of the blood vessels, look at the structure of the heart or as a treatment to widen arteries that have become narrow and clogged.

The congenital cardiac services department is able to carry out very complex catheter procedures due to its state-of-the-art equipment, computer software and imaging facilities. Find out more about catheter ablations|.

Surgical operations

The department performs around 300 surgical operations a year on people with congenital heart problems.

Common operations include:

  • Closing holes in the heart
  • Opening up and restoring or repairing heart valves
  • Opening up arteries

Find out more about cardiac surgery|.

3D echocardiography

We have one of the best 3D echocardiography service in the world. It helps us to visualise and analyse cardiac defects in three dimensions. There is a dedicated 3D echolab| situated in the department. 

The unit also performs highly complex surgery on patients who only have one main pumping chamber (ventricle) in their heart. Single ventricle surgery is about re-routing the patient's blood supply to ensure that they can pump blood round their body effectively.

Southampton is the leading unit in the country for performing this type of operation, and takes single ventricle patient referrals from all over the UK.

There are many different kinds of congenital heart defects. For further information about specific defects, please see NHS Choices|.