Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Dr. Scott D. Gullquist, Director
	The Medical College of Virginia Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit is a state of the art facility providing services to infants, children and young adults undergoing cardiovascular procedures. The "team approach" to the care of our patients at MCV is a hallmark of the high quality outcomes that are produced. Our team consists of a Pediatric Cardiac Surgeon who has been trained as a pediatric cardiac surgeon (not a cardiac surgeon who does pediatrics), two board certified Pediatric Cardiologists with extensive experience and interest in the post-operative mangement of patients with serious congenital heart disease, a third Pediatric Cardiologist highly experienced in interventional catheterization techniques, two Pediatric Anesthesiologists with fellowship training and experience in cardiac anesthesia for children, and four Pediatric Intensivists with experience in the respiratory management of patients with congenital heart disease, one with fellowship training in Pediatric cardiology. In addition, the program would not be successful without the high quality nursing and ancillary services which are only available at academic medical centers.
	To be successful in caring for all patients with congenital hear disease, all of the team members are important and necessary. A for instance might prove to be useful here. One of the most serious forms of congenital heart disease in infants is a condition called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. Many practitioners even today choose to let babies with this condition die. Currently palliative surgery and cardiac transplantation are viable options for these patients. Using the palliative surgery example, often these babies are quite sick prior to surgery and benefit from an interventional catheterization procedure to be stabilized. Preoperatively, blood Abigail - Coarctation of aorta tends to prefer to enter the lung rather than the body. The use of gaseous Carbon Dioxide has been shown to limit the steal of blood from the body by the lungs but a complicated respiratory circuit is required to give this gas. This modality is only available at a few institutions across the country and impacts significantly on the outcome in these patients. The palliative reconstructive surgery is a long and difficult operation requiring the skill of the surgeon and anesthesiologist to survive. Epidural anesthesia (MCV anesthesiologists are one of the few in the country employing this modality) in these small children helps aid in the weaning from mechanical ventilation because the infant does not have pain when breathing. Post-operatively, the preoperative instability is amplified and innovative respiratory modalities including gaseous mediators of vascular resistance are again required. In a situation like this, only the highest quality academic medical centers provide all the pieces necessary to assure a positive outcome.
	Our professional reputation is based on our outcomes, case complexity mix and costs. Currently our team has a case complexity ratio matched only by the largest institutions in the country practicing pediatric cardiac surgery. Our outcomes are reflective of our commitment to a high quality service as survival rates are higher for complex surgery than any other local institution or comparably sized institution in published studies. Our current costs are well below the state average reflecting shorter hospital stays and hospital efficiency.
	For more information about MCV's PCICU call (804) 828-5745, or contact Dr. Gullquist at sgullquist@hsc.vcu.edu.

	Contact Scott D. Gullquist, M.D for questions about the Children's Heart Institute pages. Web site Designed by Paul Vivier