The department of Cardiothoracic Surgery provides surgical care to children with congenital and acquired cardiovascular and pulmonary problems. In 2002, members of The Children’s Hospital Cardiovascular Surgery team performed more than 320 procedures with a mortality rate of less than 1 percent. In partnership with the department of Pediatric Cardiology, Cardiothoracic Surgery supports the busiest pediatric heart transplant program in the country. The department also offers the region’s only pediatric ventricular-assist device program.
François Lacour-Gayet, MD
Chairman
with eight-month-old Faith
Department Activities
In November 2002, François Lacour-Gayet, MD, was named chair of the department of Cardiothoracic Surgery. He joined full-time cardiothoracic surgeons David Clarke, MD, David Campbell, MD, and Max Mitchell, MD. Dr. Lacour-Gayet practiced for more than 20 years at the Marie Lannelongue Hospital in Paris, the largest pediatric cardiac surgery center in Europe. He comes to Children’s from Eppendorf University in Hamburg, Germany, where he served as Chief of the Department of Cardiac Surgery. He was a partner at the Aldo Castaneda Institute in Geneva, Switzerland and served as a research fellow at Loma Linda University in California. Dr. Lacour-Gayet brings considerable expertise in neonatal cardiac surgery and is in the process of developing a related program stressing the Norwood procedure for hypoplastic left-heart syndrome.
The department partners with Pediatric Cardiology to offer one of the best heart transplant programs in the country. For each of the past five years, the transplant program has had the highest volumes in the nation. The program also produces the best first-year patient and graft survival rates, as reported by the United Network of Organ Sharing and the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients.
Research and Education
All four full-time faculty members conduct clinical research and contribute to the advancement of surgical science.
Dr. Lacour-Gayet is widely recognized as an expert in complex neonatal cardiac surgery. He has pioneered a much-needed complexity score for congenital cardiac surgery and is helping to develop an international database to improve the quality of care in congenital cardiac surgery worldwide. He is recognized as an educator in the field of pediatric cardiac surgery and helps foster the training of congenital heart surgeons in underserved areas, including Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. Dr. Lacour-Gayet has authored and co-authored more than 110 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals, as well as numerous book chapters on topics in pediatric cardiothoracic surgery. He is a frequent lecturer at the yearly meetings of the leading professional organizations in the field of cardiothoracic surgery.
Dr. Clarke has lectured nationally and internationally on topics related to cardiothoracic surgery. In 2001, he served as president of the Western Thoracic Surgical Association. His active research pursuits include blood conservation in cardiac surgery, and the development of decellularized allograft conduits and bioengineered xeno-autograft conduits. He has a major interest in the clinical outcomes of patients following right-ventricular and left-ventricular allograft or autograft reconstruction. Dr. Clarke has authored and co-authored more than 100 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals. He is responsible for introducing modern pediatric cardiothoracic surgical techniques to the Rocky Mountain region, improving the lives of thousands of children.
Dr. Campbell, surgeon-director of the heart transplant program, is active in the leadership of several medical organizations, including the Colorado Medical Society. He has served as president of the Rocky Mountain Thoracic and Cardiothoracic Society. Dr. Campbell has authored more than 20 book chapters and is an author or co-author of more than 65 scientific papers published in peer-reviewed journals. He is widely regarded as an expert surgical educator.
Dr. Mitchell’s clinical interests include congenital and acquired diseases of the mitral valve, atrioventricular valve repair in children and adults, and pediatric cardiac transplantation. His basic research interests include myocardial preservation and endothelial cell function. He is currently conducting clinical projects studying out-comes following infant heart transplantation, allograft left-ventricular outflow tract reconstructions, and patients undergoing heart transplantation following failed univentricular palliation. Dr. Mitchell has authored or co-authored 37 scientific papers published in peer-reviewed journals and 12 book chapters. He has made scientific presentations at national and international meetings and has given invited lectures in Japan, China and Spain. He has led volunteer medical missions in Kazakhstan and China.
Clinical Support
Clinical specialist Esther Carpenter, RN, BSN, provides an essential link to patients, families, general support staff and outside physician referrals. She has been very involved in organizing nursing support and instituting an educational program for the cardiac intensive care unit, which opened in September 2002.
The Future
With the arrival of Dr. Lacour-Gayet, the Cardiothoracic Surgery program will continue to grow at a rapid pace. Four hundred surgical procedures are projected for 2003. A multidisciplinary team of surgeons, cardiologists and staff have begun to build a comprehensive, integrated care program for young cardiac patients. Using a multidisciplinary approach as a foundation, the program will offer additional resources and the latest technology for treating the most complex pediatric heart cases. Over the next several years, the development of an international complexity scoring system and an international pediatric cardiac outcomes database will extend our knowledge in surgical interventions for young cardiac patients.
