Who We Are: Leaders in Pediatric Heart Surgery and Innovation
Our Division is dedicated to delivering exceptional surgical care to children and adults with congenital heart disease. Our team combines technical excellence, thoughtful innovation, and deep compassion to care for patients across the full spectrum of cardiac complexity, from newborns and infants to adults with congenital heart disease.
Our Mission: Excellence in care. One Pediatric Heart Institute.
Our mission is to improve the lifelong journeys of individuals with congenital heart disease through excellent clinical care and groundbreaking innovation. Caring for patients with congenital heart disease requires a focused and coordinated effort between providers from multiple different disciplines. As such, our Division is part of an integrated multidisciplinary center – the Pediatric Heart Institute (PHI) at Vanderbilt. The PHI includes more than 500 surgeons, cardiologists, intensivists, anesthesiologists, nurses, advanced practice providers, psychologists, social workers, and other allied health professionals working together to give children and adults with congenital heart disease the best possible chance for a healthy life.
Clinical care at the PHI is provided through a series of multidisciplinary clinical programs focused around the individual needs of the different patients we serve. Some these programs include:
- Single-ventricle and Fontan programs
- Heart failure/transplant program
- Adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) program
- Anomalous coronary artery program
- Partial heart transplant program
- Pulmonary vein stenosis program
- Vascular ring and aerodigestive compression program
- Arrythmia surgery program
Our surgeons are committed to not only achieving outstanding surgical outcomes, but also advancing our field through research, innovation, and education. Our work builds upon the rich legacy of pioneers such as Alfred Blalock and Vivian Thomas, whose groundbreaking efforts laid the foundation for the development of cardiac surgery and forever changed the lives of children with heart disease. Their commitment to collaborative problem-solving continues to inspire us every day. Some of our Division’s initiatives include the early development of medical technology, patient- centered and clinical outcomes research, advancements in cardiac transplantation and organ preservation, and translational laboratory research centered around the needs of patients with congenital heart disease.
Our Division is also committed to developing the next generation of clinicians that will care for individuals with congenital heart disease. Wenot only actively participate in the training of cardiothoracic surgery fellows but also of fellows, residents, medical students, advance practice providers, and staff in the different areas of the PHI through hands-on clinical care, clinical conferences, and educational lectures.
Thank you for your interest in our program.
Carlos M. Mery, MD, MPH
Division Chief, Pediatric Cardiac Surgery
Co-Executive Director, Pediatric Heart Institute
Associate Surgeon-In-Chief, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt
Professor of Cardiac Surgery, Pediatrics, and Biomedical Informatics