Department of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery for Congenital Heart Disease - University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf

About the Department of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery for Congenital Heart Disease at University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf

The Department of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery for Congenital Heart Disease at the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf provides a full range of modern diagnostics and treatment in its specialties according to the highest standards of university medicine. The department provides qualified medical care for young patients with congenital and acquired cardiac pathologies. Adults with congenital heart defects are also treated here – the medical facility has the status of a supraregional Center for Congenital Heart Disease in adults, certified by the German Cardiac Society (DGK), the German Society for Pediatric Cardiology (DGPK), and the German Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (DGTHG). Patients' health is in the safe hands of a highly qualified team of physicians, including cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, and specially trained nurses. The main goal of the doctors is to provide each child with effective treatment, taking into account their individual needs, and to give them the opportunity to live a full life. The department has a powerful technical base and comfortable infrastructure. It uses classical and innovative methods of treatment available only in the best heart centers in Europe. The department treats more than 4,000 young patients a year, most of them on an outpatient basis. The department has 237 beds, including 40 beds in the intensive care unit. The department is headed by Prof. Dr. med. Rainer Gerhard Kozlik-Feldmann.

In the field of pediatric cardiology, physicians often perform comprehensive diagnostic examinations of children and adolescents under the age of 18 when they suspect heart disease and choose a conservative treatment regimen. For a complete assessment of the anatomical structure and functions of the cardiovascular system in young patients, the department offers echocardiography, electrocardiography, spiroergometry, bicycle ergometry, electrophysiological studies, cardiac catheterization, computed tomography, and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. The set of diagnostic measures is determined by the attending physician after a clinical examination of the child and analysis of his medical history and complaints. All cardiological diagnostic procedures are performed on state-of-the-art medical equipment, taking into account the needs of young patients. Based on the results of a complete examination of the child, the pediatric cardiologists, together with the cardiac surgeons, begin to develop an optimal treatment plan. Whenever possible, conservative and interventional catheter-based procedures are preferred, with surgery considered as a last-line treatment.

The clinical focus of the pediatric cardiac surgery team is the surgical treatment of congenital heart disease in children. More than 430 young patients with heart defects of varying severity are operated on here each year. The department's cardiac surgeons excel at operating on children with atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect, hypoplastic left heart syndrome, coarctation of the aorta, patent ductus arteriosus, patent truncus arteriosus, transposition of the great vessels, tetralogy of Fallot, and other congenital heart defects. It should be noted that operations are also performed on premature babies weighing only 500 grams. These interventions are considered particularly complex and require exceptional professionalism and impressive experience of the surgeon. Most operations for congenital heart defects in children are performed using sparing minimally invasive and hybrid surgical techniques. Each surgical procedure on the heart is carefully planned in order to eliminate risks for the child.

The therapeutic offer of the department is complemented by the consultation and treatment of congenital heart defects in adults. For this purpose, there is a specialized center that has been awarded quality certificates by the German Cardiac Society (DGK), the German Society for Pediatric Cardiology (DGPK), and the German Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (DGTHG). The healthcare facility treats approximately 1,000 patients with congenital heart defects annually in inpatient and outpatient settings. An interdisciplinary team of doctors, consisting of adult cardiologists and cardiac surgeons, works with this group of patients.

The main areas of clinical activity of the department are as follows:

• Diagnostics and treatment of congenital heart defects
  • Diagnostics and treatment of atrial septal defect
  • Diagnostics and treatment of ventricular septal defect
  • Diagnostics and treatment of hypoplastic left heart syndrome
  • Diagnostics and treatment of coarctation of the aorta
  • Diagnostics and treatment of patent ductus arteriosus
  • Diagnostics and treatment of truncus arteriosus
  • Diagnostics and treatment of transposition of the great arteries
  • Diagnosis and treatment of tetralogy of Fallot
• Diagnostics and treatment of heart arrhythmias
• Diagnostics and treatment of cardiac manifestations of Marfan syndrome
• Diagnostics and treatment of heart failure
• Diagnostics and treatment of pulmonary hypertension
• Diagnostics and treatment of other cardiovascular diseases in children

The range of diagnostic and therapeutic services provided by the department includes the following:

• Diagnostic options
  • Echocardiography
  • Electrocardiography
  • Spiroergometry
  • Bicycle ergometry
  • Electrophysiological studies
  • Cardiac catheterization
  • Computed tomography
  • Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging
  • Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM)
• Therapeutic options
  • Drug therapy
  • Interventional catheter-based therapy
  • Surgical treatment – ​​mainly sparing minimally invasive and hybrid surgical techniques are used
• Other medical services