Interventional Cardiology | Miami Children's Hospital

Our program is nationally recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the best pediatric heart and heart surgery programs.

A Leader in Interventional Cardiology

The Congenital Heart Institute at Miami Children’s Hospital is an international leader in the development of interventional cardiac catheterization techniques to treat congenital heart disorders.

The program was one of only three centers nationwide chosen to participate in a clinical trial to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the Melody transcatheter pulmonary valve in patients with dysfunctional right ventricular outflow. The device, developed by Medtronic, Inc, makes possible the replacement of a patient’s pulmonary valve without open-heart surgery. As a result of the trial, the device received FDA approval in 2010.

“We are among the most experienced facilities in the country in transcatheter treatment of congenital heart disorders,” said Evan Zahn, MD, Chief of Cardiology. Dr. Zahn published results of the study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in 2009.

Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve Implantation: An Alternative to Open-Heart Surgery

Until recently, children born with defective pulmonary valves typically had to undergo multiple open-heart surgeries over the course of a lifetime as replacement valves wore out. The Medtronic system allows for a replacement valve to be delivered to the heart and deployed through a slim catheter device, eliminating the need for re-operation.

“Our philosophy has always been to minimize the cumulative trauma that our young patients must endure over the course of their lifetimes. This non-surgical method of valve replacement is a quantum leap forward towards achieving this goal,” said Dr. Zahn. “The Melody valve is so effective that a single child may be spared numerous open-heart surgeries.”

After implantation with the Melody device, children typically go home within a day with only a small bandage over the site where the catheter was inserted.

Read the Zoe Stern Success story and see how a California mother followed her heart to Miami Children's Hospital.

HELEX Septal Occluder: Repairs Atrial Septal Defects

Dr. Zahn was also instrumental in the design, development and testing of the Gore HELEX Septal Occluder, which is used to repair atrial septal defects (ASD), a hole between the top two chambers of the heart. Dr. Zahn helped design the device, which is implanted and then deployed through a catheter. Dr. Zahn implanted the first patient in the United States with the device in 2000. After a multi-center U.S. trial, the Helex received FDA approval.

The Helex is made of nitinol wire and double discs of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE), an ultra-thin membrane that encourages cellular growth. Once the Helex is in place, tissue grows around it and it becomes a permanent repair for the defective heart.

For Pediatric Cardiology & Cardiovascular Surgery Information / Appointments Please call 305-662-8301

Dr. Evan Zahn Publications:

1. Zahn EM, Hellenbrand WE, JE Lock JE, McElhinney DB. Implantation of the Melody Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve in Patients with Dysfunctional Right Ventricular Outflow Tract Conduits: Early Results from the U.S. Clinical Trial. . J Am Coll Cardiol. 2009 Oct 27;54(18):1722-9.

2. Giroud JM, Zahn EM, Ringewald J, Suh EJ..Innovation in Interventional Cadiology. Cardio Young.2009 Nov;19, Supp 2:43-7.

3. McElhinney DB, Hellenbrand WE, Zahn EM, Jones TK, Cheatham JP, Lock JE, Vincent JA. Short- and medium-term outcomes after transcatheter pulmonary valve placement in the expanded multicenter US melody valve trial. Circulation, 2010 Aug 3;122(5):507-16.

4. Kutty S, Nykanen DG, Zahn EM. Early Experience with a Simplified Technique for Transcatheter Closure of the Patent Foramen Ovale. Heart Lung Circ. 2009 Sep 25. [Epub ahead of print]

5. Hannan RL, Zabinsky JA, Stanfill RM, Ventura RA, Rossi AF, Nykanen DF, Zahn EM, Burke RP. . Midterm Results for Collaborative Treatment of Pulmonary Atresia with Intact Ventricular Septum. Ann Thorac Surg. 2009 Jul;88(1):277-8.

6. Burke RP, Hannan RL, Zabinsky JA, Tirotta CF, Zahn EM. Hybrid ventricular decompression in pulmonary atresia with intact septum. Ann Thorac Surg. 2009 Aug;88(2):688-9.

7. Hannan RL, Zabinsky JA, Hernandez A, Zahn EM, Burke RP. Hybrid treatment of superior vena cava syndrome in a child. Ann Thorac Surg. 2009 Jul;88(1):277-8.

8. Stanfill R, Nykanen DG, Osorio S, Whalen R, Burke RP, Zahn EM. Stent Implantation is Effective Treatment of Vascular Stenosis in Young Infants with Congenital Heart Disease: Acute Implantation and Long-term Follow-up Results. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 2008 May 1;71(6):831-41.

9. Davenport JJ, Lam L, Whalen-Glass R, Nykanen DG, Burke RP, Hannan R, Zahn EM. The Successful Use of Alternative Routes of Vascular Access for Performing Pediatric Interventional Cardiac Catheterization. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 2008 Sep 1;72(3):392-8.

10. Kutty S, Nykanen DG, Zahn EM. Interventional Therapy for Neonates with Critical Congenital Heart Disease. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 2008 Nov 1;72(5):663-74.

11. Forbes TJ, Garekar S, Amin Z, Zahn EM, Nykanen D, et al. Procedural results and acute complications in stenting native and recurrent coarctation of the aorta in patients over 4 years of age: a multi-institutional study. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 2007 Aug 1;70(2):276-85.

12. Forbes TJ, Moore P, Pedra CA, Zahn EM, Nykanen DG, et al. Intermediate Intermediate follow-up following intravascular stenting for treatment of coarctation of the aorta. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 2007 Oct 1;70(4):569-77.

13. Jones TK, Latson LA, Zahn E, Fleishman CE, Jacobson J, Vincent R, Kanter K; Multicenter Pivotal Study of the HELEX Septal Occluder Investigators. Results of the U.S. multicenter pivotal study of the HELEX septal occluder for percutaneous closure of secundum atrial septal defects.J Am Coll Cardiol. 2007;49(22):2215-21.

14. Nykanen DG, Zahn EM. Transcatheter techniques in the management of perioperative vascular obstruction. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 2005 Dec;66(4):573-9.

15. Latson LA, Jones TK, Jacobson J, Zahn EM, Rhodes JF. Analysis of factors related to successful trans-catheter closure of secundum atrial septal defects using the HELEX™ Septal Occluder. Am Heart J. 2006;151(5):1129.e7-11.

16. Dobrolet NC, Iskowitz S, Lopez L, Whalen R, Zahn EM. Sequential implantation of two HelexTM septal occluder devices in a patient with complex atrial septal anatomy. Catheterization and Cardiovasc Inter 2001; 54 (2):242-6.

17. Lane GK, Macri NP, Rhodes JF, Mesia CI, Prieto LR, Sawyer PL, Manning MM, Anderson DJ, Zahn EM, Latson L.A. Biologic response to the HELEX&unknown; septal occluder implantation in the canine heart. JACC 2002, 39:409.

18. Lopez L, Ventura R, Welch EM, Nykanen DG, Zahn EM. Echocardiographic considerations during deployment of the Helex Septal Occluder for closure of atrial septal defects. Cardiol Young. 2003;13(3):290-8.

19. Burke RP, Zahn EM, Rossi AF. Achieving resonance in a programme for congenital cardiac surgery. Cardiol Young. 2004;14 (suppl 1);75-82

20. Zahn EM, Dobrolet, NC, Nykanen DG, Hannan RL, Burke RP. Interventional Cardiac Catheterization Performed in the Early Post-Operative Period Following Congenital Heart Surgery, J Am Coll Cardiol. 2004;43(7):1264-9.

21. Hannan RL, Miyagi K, Burke RP, Zahn EM. Endovascular Stent Graft Treatment of an Enlarging Pulmonary Artery Pseudoaneurysm in a Child. Ann Thorac Surg 2001;71:727-9.

22. Zahn EM, Wilson N, Cutright W, Latson LA. Development and testing of the HelexTM septal occluder- a new expanded polytertrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) atrial septal defect occlusion system. Circulation 2001;104(6): 711-716.