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Heart Institute News

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First Traveling Bedside PDA Closure Performed at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Fort Lauderdale NICU

April 22, 2026 – The team at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital’s Heart Institute has successfully performed the first traveling bedside transcatheter patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) closure on a 22-week-old premature infant weighing 800 grams within Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Fort Lauderdale, located on the campus of Broward Health Medical Center.

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Nicklaus Children’s Hospital’s Heart Institute Performs Florida’s First Partial Heart Transplant

April 15, 2026 – Nicklaus Children’s Hospital’s Heart Institute cardiovascular surgery team successfully performed Florida’s first partial heart transplant on an 11-year-old patient, implanting a donor “living valve” designed to grow with the child and reduce the need for future open-heart surgeries.

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Nicklaus Children's Hospital's Heart Institute Leads the Region with Groundbreaking Techniques for Congenital Heart Disorders

February 04, 2026 – From partial heart transplantation and complex biventricular repairs to innovative procedures in the catheterization laboratory, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital's Heart Institute is pioneering new options for children with pediatric heart conditions.

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Nicklaus Children’s Hospital's Heart Institute Becomes First in Florida to Perform Pediatric Pulmonary Ozaki

January 05, 2026 – Nicklaus Children’s Hospital's Heart Institute has successfully performed an innovative pulmonary heart valve repair utilizing a complex and unique technique known as the Ozaki procedure, becoming the first known pediatric program in the state of Florida to do so and among only a select group of pediatric health systems globally.

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Nicklaus Children’s Hospital's Heart Institute Launches Bedside Transcatheter PDA Closure Offering for Newborns

October 16, 2025 – Nicklaus Children’s Hospital'sHeart Institute, a world-recognized leader in heart innovation, is now offering bedside transcatheter patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) closures for medically fragile newborns.This new offering brings advanced therapy directly to the neonatal intensive care unit, allowing procedures to be performed within the baby’s own isolette or crib.

The Future of Pediatric Cardiac Research at Nicklaus Children's Hospital

February 13, 2025 – In recognition of American Heart Month, the Nicklaus Children's Research Institute is celebrating the future of cardiac research at Nicklaus Children's Hospital. With decades of experience in pediatric cardiology, the new Chief of Cardiology, Shyam Sathanandam M.D., is enthusiastic about the future of clinical trials at Nicklaus Children's.

Saving Lives with a Sudden Cardiac Arrest Readiness Program

December 20, 2024 – Though rare, sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in the young causes tragic events that impact the entire community. Roughly 7,000 people under the age of 18 will suffer a cardiac arrest annually in the U.S. Because of education and hands-on training to school faculty, countless lives have been saved nationally. In just two years, eight lives have been saved in South Florida schools.

Pediatric Aortic Arch Repair: Revolutionary Care for Traumatic Cardiac Injuries

December 16, 2024 – Nicklaus Children’s Hospital is renowned for its groundbreaking pediatric cardiac and cardiovascular surgical care. Learn more about the pioneering innovative clinical research and offering advanced, lifesaving procedures such as aortic arch surgery.

The Growing Footprint of Pediatric Cardiac Catheterization

November 08, 2024 – As the medical community continues its shift toward less invasive interventions, cardiac catheterization is becoming more commonplace within care plans for pediatric and adult patients. In many cases, this less invasive approach is the standard of care.

Nicklaus Children’s Hospital’s Project ADAM Outreach Initiative Saves Lives – Five and Counting!

September 16, 2024 – Nicklaus Children’s Hospital’s Heart Institute is leading a community initiative aimed at preventing sudden cardiac death, a leading cause of death among adults and children nationwide. In the last 18 months, the program has provided training to address sudden cardiac arrest events for staff at all 332 Miami-Dade County Public Schools, as well as an array of private and charter schools in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

An Acuity-Adaptable Model for Improved Pediatric Cardiac Care

January 08, 2024 – Nicklaus Children's Hospital Heart Institute is home to the first pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) in the Southeast. Today, the cardiology, cardiovascular surgery and CICU teams within the Heart Institute continue to lead the way with the implementation of an acuity-adaptable model of care.

At the Leading Edge of Pediatric Cardiac Catheterization

December 18, 2023 – Widely recognized as a world leader in pediatric interventional cardiac catheterization, the team at the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital's Heart Institute not only utilizes the most advanced devices, procedures, and treatments, they also ensure families remain the focus by actively communicating. This includes calling a patient's parents "every hour while the procedure takes place.” 

Nicklaus Children's Broadens Treatment Options for Congenital Heart Disease Patients with Minimally Invasive Therapy

November 18, 2021 – The Heart Institute at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital is now offering pulmonary valve replacement via cardiac catheterization with the recently FDA-approved Harmony valve.

Speak Now for Kids Family Advocacy: Tad's Story

August 10, 2020 – Over the last two years, Theodore “Tad” Hartrick has spent months at a time at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. Like Tad, there are many children in the state and in the nation who rely on access to pediatric care and Medicaid funding. Here is a message from the Hartrick family in support of this year’s Speak Now For Kids Family Advocacy Week campaign.

The Heart Institute at Nicklaus Children's Acquires FDA-Approved Amplatzer Piccolo™ Occluder to Perform Non-Surgical Closures of Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) in Premature Infants in its Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory

May 28, 2020 – The Heart Institute now offers the recently FDA-approved Amplatzer Piccolo™ Occluder to close PDAs in very premature babies in the Cath Lab. This self-expanding, wire mesh device is designed specifically to fit within the PDA of very low weight preemies with little risk of interference with adjacent structures.