How A New Heart Surgery Option At Oklahoma Children’s Hospital Is Saving Children’s Lives

Spending time at the hospital is not an experience most of us look forward to having. Imagine spending months waiting for a new heart.

Nationwide, 17 people die each day waiting for an organ transplant, according to the Health Resources & Services Administration. Doctors at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital OU Health use a device that keeps children alive while they wait for their new heart. 

Waiting makes it hard to focus, especially for children who suffer from heart failure. Oklahoma Children’s Hospital Chief of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Harold Burkhart sees what children sacrifice when their hearts are no longer strong enough to live at home. 

“You’re living in a hospital. You’re not hanging out with your friends and going to school,” Burkhart said. 

In the past, Oklahoma families had to seek intensive heart care outside the state due to limited cardiac care options for children. 

“That’s super disruptive to the families and their finances and their careers,” said Erik Edens, medical director of the Heart Transplant Program at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital. 

Edens said the number of children in need outnumber the hearts available. 

“Some of those patients unfortunately pass while on the list cause they don’t get a heart soon enough,” Edens said. 

Families face a complicated waiting period. 

“Some other child has to die in order for their child to live,” Edens said.

One patient came to their minds, someone Burkhart helped save through a unique surgery. 

“She was dreadfully ill,” Edens said. 

Burkhart implanted what is called a ventricular assist device into a child with a dysfunctional heart. 

“They’re going to die if we don’t do something,” Edens said. 

Burkhart’s team placed this device in an Oklahoma child for the first time. 

“It went fantastic,” Burkhart said. 

The child can wait for her new heart at her home. 

“That was the mission that I came here to accomplish,” said Edens, who has used this technology at other children's hospitals in Iowa and Minnesota. 

For these doctors, a home for a child is often the best medicine. 

“I think people heal better and adjust better,” Edens said. 

 When a child rests where they are comfortable, they can focus on their life. 

“It makes it all worth it, right?” Burkhart said. “That child went through a lot and now is living her life with her family and her friends.”