The cardiovascular surgery team at the Nicklaus Children's Hospital Heart Institute successfully performed the first partial heart transplant in the state of Florida in March of 2026 on Greyson, an 11-year-old patient born with a Ventricular Septal Defect, a congenital heart disorder. In this major surgical innovation, the living valve of a donor's heart is implanted into a patient, which allows the living valve to grow with the child. Congenital heart defects are the most common birth defects, affecting nearly 1% of newborns in the U.S., or about 40,000 infants. Of those infants born with CHD, half will need an operation to fix or replace a valve.
Greyson, the 11-year-old patient who underwent the procedure, had two additional heart surgeries as a baby prior to coming to Nicklaus Children's. His family is hopeful that he will not require another open-heart surgery in the future thanks to this innovative procedure.
"Going in for a second opinion is what brought me to Nicklaus Children's and Dr. Kalfa with his years of expertise and research in the field, and I am so grateful for that," says, Piera Archila, Greyson's mother. "Greyson underwent open-heart surgery in New York and has since been to a few other children's hospitals in Florida and outside the state in search for answers for his condition. Nicklaus Children's offered something unique in that Greyson can now grow up without needing another open-heart surgery."
