Heart Institute News

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”