Cardiac Catheterization & Interventional Program
A generous gift by Clay E. and Rita M. Buzzard in 2016, funded the Pediatric Cardiology Catheterization Lab and Electrophysiology Suite in the Golisano Children’s Hospital. It is the only pediatric catheterization laboratory in Western New York equipped to perform the most specialized interventional procedures for patients with congenital heart disease.
Contact Us
Phone: (585) 275-6108
What is Cardiac Catheterization?
A cardiac catheterization is a minimally invasive procedure that provides additional information about your congenital heart defect. During a cardiac catheterization procedure, a catheter (a flexible tube similar to an IV) is inserted into a blood vessel. This is most commonly done through the groin. Using fluoroscopy (special video x-ray), the catheter makes its way to different areas of the heart, where it can take measurements of pressures and oxygen levels. Contrast is then injected into different areas of the heart or blood vessels to take angiograms (special moving pictures).
Why is Cardiac Catheterization Necessary?
A catheterization provides an opportunity to assess the heart’s function and the effects the defect has upon the cardiac system. It helps the cardiology team determine future plans for care. Determination for the need of surgery may be based on the findings obtained during the test.
A cardiac catheterization also provides an opportunity for some treatments to be performed during the procedure, called catheter interventions. These catheter interventions allow the cardiologist to treat certain problems which may then avoid the need for open-heart surgeries.
Pediatric Interventional Cardiac Catheterization Procedures
Cardiac catheterizations allow us to treat a great number of congenital heart defects without the need for open-heart surgery.
- Balloon atrial septostomy
- Closure of defects and abnormal blood vessels such as:
- Atrial Septal Defects (ASD)
- Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA)
- Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO)
- Ventricular Septal Defects (VSD)
- Major Aortopulmonary Collateral Arteries (MAPCAs)
- Balloon Valvuloplasty to treat:
- Aortic Stenosis
- Pulmonary Stenosis
- Tricuspid Stenosis
- Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve Replacement (TPVR)
- Narrowing blood vessels treated with balloon dilation and/or stent placement
- Endomyocardial Biopsy (in pre- and post-heart transplant patients)