Carlos Mery, MD, MPH, a pediatric congenital heart surgeon and the Associate Chief of Pediatric and Congenital Cardiothoracic Surgery for the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease, delivers multidisciplinary, team-based care to ensure patients and their families receive the highest level of specialized care and experience a seamless transition from pediatric to adult congenital cardiac care.
On July 1, 2022, Leo Rodriguez was born with a rare congenital heart defect that resulted in being waitlisted for a heart transplant. 269 days later, baby Leo was cleared to leave the hospital for the first time in his life.
The Chief of Pediatric Cardiac Anesthesiology at the Texas Center for Congenital and Pediatric Heart Disease serves as an editor for the latest edition of a leading textbook that will inform care for years to come.
For parents Linda and Robert Sedillo, it was seemingly impossible to find a heart surgeon to take on their infant daughter Rubi’s case. When they reached out to the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease, they were met with a care team willing to address their needs and support them in a path forward for Rubi. Find out how receiving care at the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease helped them become better advocates for their child's health.
The Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease contributes to the chain of survival that played a vital role in an 11-year-old soccer player's miraculous recovery.
Acclaimed cardiovascular surgeon George Arnaoutakis, MD, has joined the Institute for Cardiovascular Health, a clinical partnership between Ascension Texas and UT Health Austin
Lincoln Contrearas' treatment at the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease granted his family optimism for the future.
Anesthesiologists in the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease enter a multi-site clinical trial to determine best care practices for patients undergoing congenital heart surgery.
On December 13, 2018, 5-year-old Owen Coulter’s heart stopped beating in the emergency room at Dell Children’s Medical Center. After 90 minutes of CPR and other critical interventions, his heart began beating again. Today, three years later, Owen is a vibrant, curious second grader. Read Owen's story and find out why Owen's parents, Kristin and Darin Coulter, refer to Dell Children's as their family.
In her mid-40s, Patty Candelaria was treated by UT Health Austin board-certified interventional cardiologist D. Byron Holt, MD, FSCAI, who serves as the Chief of Pediatric Cardiology for the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease. Find out how Patty became Dr. Holt’s oldest “pediatric” heart surgery patient.
On Wednesday, March 2, UT Health Austin pediatric and congenital heart surgeon Charles D. Fraser, Jr., MD, an internationally recognized congenital heart surgeon, was named the inaugural Executive Director of the new Institute for Cardiovascular Health, a collaboration between Ascension Texas and The University of Texas at Austin, which includes the Dell Medical School.
Every child and their family deserve the best possible care, and the best has come to the families of Central Texas! With a focus on uncompromising quality, unwavering commitment, and both whole-patient and whole-family care, the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease, a clinical partnership between Dell Children’s Medical Center and UT Health Austin, is dedicated to making every childhood the beginning of a healthy, happy life.
UT Health Austin and Dell Children’s Medical Center are excited to announce that as they continue to expand pediatric cardiac care services in Central Texas, three leading cardiac care physicians, D. Byron Holt, MD, FSCAI, Chesney Castleberry, MD, and Hitesh Agrawal, MD, MBA, FSCAI, have formally joined the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease.
The Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease celebrates 1,000 open-heart surgeries, a milestone achieved sooner than expected.
Lorenzo Restrepo was born with a rare and complex medical condition that resulted in multiple congenital heart defects. When he was 4 months old, his parents traveled from Colombia, South America to seek care from Charles Fraser, MD, who operated on Lorenzo and now serves as Chief of the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease. Today, Lorenzo is an 18-year-old high school senior living a normal and active life despite what doctors predicted.
UT Health Austin and Dell Children’s Medical Center are proud to announce funding for a multi-institutional study to focus on patients with anomalous aortic origin of a coronary artery (AAOCA) and their families. AAOCA's are the second leading cause of sudden death in children and young adults who participate in sports.
The Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease announces a first-of-its-kind educational partnership with the Texas Heart Institute in which student perfusionists will now have the opportunity to perform clinical training in the pediatric clinical setting at Dell Children’s Medical Center.
UT Health Austin and Dell Children’s Medical Center are proud to announce that 13-year-old Grace Jennings is home after receiving a long-awaited heart transplant. Grace received her heart transplant on January 26, 2021 after waiting 15 months for a donor heart while on a lifesaving mechanical heart pump.
Levi was born with a ventricular septal defect, a more common congenital heart defect characterized by a hole in the ventricular septum, that can sometimes close as a child grows. But when Levi's hole didn't close his family was prepared to travel anywhere across the nation to make sure he received the best care possible. To their surprise, they ended up finding a world-class pediatric cardiac care team right here in Central Texas.
On January 11, 2021, the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease, a clinical partnership between UT Health Austin and Dell Children’s Medical Center, successfully implanted its first Berlin Heart ventricular assist device in a pediatric patient.
The Heart Failure, VAD, and Transplant Program, a specialty program within the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease, successfully performs their first heart transplant, providing 18-year-old Gerado with a lifesaving heart transplant.
On Friday, July 31, the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease, the clinical partnership between UT Health Austin and Dell Children’s Medical Center, announced the launch of the first pediatric heart transplant program in Central Texas.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. While heart disease may be common, it doesn’t have to be inevitable. Watch our video for tips on how to keep your heart healthy and happy.
UT Health Austin pediatric congenital heart surgeon Carlos Mery, MD, discusses a new collaborative research study for patients with single-ventricle congenital heart disease.
12-year-old Grace Jennings is the first pediatric congenital heart patient in Central Texas to receive a life-saving mechanical heart device to stabilize her heart function. Find out how she has exceeded all expectations and is growing stronger each day.
When you're faced with a decision on where to take your child for the best care it can be a tough choice. Two-year-old Addie has been with Dr. Carlos Mery since the beginning, even when Dr. Mery moved to Austin to establish the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Defects here, Addie's mom, Patty, new he was worth following.
One of the rarest and more severe heart defects is hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which takes three highly complex surgical procedures and a specialist team of cardiac specialists to treat. Dr. Carlos Mery talks about how they treat this condition at the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Defects at Dell Children's Medical Center.
Dell Children’s Medical Center celebrated the opening of its new pediatric cardiac care unit, a part of UT Health Austin's Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease. The 24-bed inpatient unit includes state-of-the-art technology and will be the first and only dedicated pediatric cardiac care unit in Central Texas.
The Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease team is one of the best in the nation. From your cardiologist, to your surgical team, to your caseworker who helps you navigate the processes, the team helping you is vast, and they all center their attention on you and your child.
Joaquin is an energetic 13-year-old boy who loves playing sports, but in September 2018 he began experiencing intense chest pains during baseball practice that turned out to be a massive cardiovascular event that changed his life forever.
Charles D. Fraser, Jr., MD, Chief of Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery, Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease, speaks with KXAN’s Gigi Barnett about his plans to build the Texas Center for Pediatrics and Congenital Heart Disease in Austin and what that means for children and families here and throughout the state.
Academic medical centers are known to be at the forefront of cutting-edge medical care and technologies. They are where medical knowledge is continuously evolving through research and where new cures, therapies and treatments are found. Charles D. Fraser, Jr., MD, discusses how academic medical centers make an impact.
Dr. Fraser will play a leading role in building the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease, a focused pediatric and congenital heart program that leverages the power of the partnership between UT Health Austin, Dell Medical School, the greater University of Texas community, and Dell Children’s Medical Center.
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