Heart Surgery

Our pediatric cardiac surgery team provides expert care for children with congenital and acquired heart conditions. We offer advanced repairs, transplants, and ventricular assist devices with compassion and precision.

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1-888-573-5437

Additional phone number:: 1-319-356-2017

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At University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital, pediatric cardiac surgery brings together skill, collaboration, and compassion. Our surgeons work as part of a comprehensive heart team — including cardiology, anesthesia, imaging, and intensive care — to provide coordinated care for children with congenital and acquired heart conditions.

We offer surgical expertise across all ages and levels of complexity, from newborns to adults with congenital heart disease. Advanced imaging allows many heart conditions to be diagnosed before birth, giving the multidisciplinary team the opportunity to begin planning care early and support informed decision making from the start.

Specialized surgical care for pediatric heart conditions

Whether your child’s procedure is planned before birth or needed years after an earlier repair, our team provides expert, individualized surgical care focused on long‑term health. Pediatric cardiac surgeons treat the full range of congenital and acquired heart disease, from complex repairs in infants to reoperations in teens and adults living with congenital heart conditions.

Using advanced surgical techniques and innovative approaches, surgeons safely and effectively care for even the smallest and most complex hearts. Expertise also includes mechanical circulatory support and pediatric heart transplantation. Stead Family Children’s Hospital is home to Iowa’s only pediatric heart transplant program, expanding access to advanced surgical options close to home.

Family-centered support before and after surgery

We understand that heart surgery can feel overwhelming for families. That’s why your child’s surgeon meets with you early — often before birth if a heart condition is diagnosed during pregnancy — to review imaging, explain the procedure, and answer questions. Surgeons take time to walk through each step of care, so you know what to expect before, during, and after surgery.

Support extends beyond the operating room. Families have access to social work and palliative care services to help with emotional support, decision making, and practical needs throughout the surgical experience.

A team-based approach to care

Care for children with heart disease is guided by close collaboration across the pediatric heart team. Surgeons, cardiologists, anesthesiologists, intensivists, and other specialists meet regularly to review cases, discuss surgical candidates, and determine treatment strategies using a multidisciplinary approach.

For children in the hospital, the team comes together daily — including weekends — for coordinated rounds. This shared approach supports continuity of care, lets treatment plans evolve as a child grows, and reflects the combined expertise of the full care team at every stage.