Patient Outcomes Among the Nation's Best
Our patient survival rates are among the highest in the U.S. and Canada, a notable achievement considering our pediatric heart surgeons perform hundreds of heart operations every year on very sick patients who require advanced, complex care. Learn more about our outcomes.
Recognized for Surgical Excellence
We are one of the few U.S. hospitals verified as a Level I Children's Surgery Center by the American College of Surgeons. To achieve Level I certification, centers must offer multiple medical and surgical specialties, with procedures for major and uncommon congenital anomalies and complex diseases that require significant coordination among multiple specialties.
Dedicated Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit
Our pediatric cardiac intensive care unit (PCICU) is equipped with advanced technology and staffed 24/7 by a team of highly trained critical care specialists, nurses, respiratory therapists, and others who are experts in caring for critically ill children.
Recognized Experts in Pediatric Heart Transplant
Patients on our pediatric heart transplant waitlist receive a heart faster than the national average. While on the waitlist, children may benefit from a surgically placed mechanical pump that supports a child’s heart.
Saving Lives with Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO)
ECMO is an advanced rescue technology that can provide critical temporary life support for people with heart failure or lung failure. During ECMO support, a person’s circulatory system is connected via tubing to a pump and oxygenator (artificial lung) outside the body. This takes over the work of the heart and lungs, adding oxygen to the blood and pumping blood throughout the body. The system is managed by ECMO specialists including perfusionists, respiratory therapists, critical care physicians, and cardiac surgeons. Duke has one of the largest ECMO programs in the nation.