hlhsinfo

The Norwood procedure was developed in 1979 by Dr. William Norwood.

Major centers such as the University of Michigan perform approximately 60 Norwood procedures a year and can achieve an 85% survival rate for the first stage, and over 95% survival for the second and third stage procedures. The Children's Hospital of Boston and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia both state similar success rates.

These success rates are dependent upon the baby's exact medical condition. Since HLHS is a syndrome - meaning a complex set of problems - the estimated survival rate for your baby may vary. It is important for you to ask the surgeon what the success rate is for babies with your child's particular condition.

Loma Linda University has been a pioneer in the field of heart transplants, ever since the first successful infant-to-infant heart transplant was performed there in 1985. Of the 80% of infants on the transplantation list who receive donor hearts, Loma Linda documents success rates of approximately 80%. (Approximately 20% of babies on the heart transplant list do not receive a heart in time due to the lack of available donor hearts.)

US News and World Report lists "Best Children's Hospitals" and in 2008 included the category of "Heart and Heart Surgery." Be sure to check the criteria used for choosing these hospitals, and understand that not all of the hospitals listed may treat HLHS. There may also be big differences in the number of HLHS cases and/or the success rates for the 3-stage surgeries among those who do treat HLHS. You should still interview several hospitals to compare.

Below is a listing of SOME hospitals in the United States at which the 3-Stage Procedures, Heart Transplants or both are performed.

Please note that this is not a complete listing and the number of procedures performed vary greatly from hospital to hospital. In addition, surgeons sometimes move to different hospitals, and therefore, a surgeon's experience may vary from the hospital staff's experience with HLHS.

To find out which procedures are offered, and how many are performed at a specific hospital, please contact the facility directly. When speaking with surgeons or hospital representatives, it may be helpful to use the questions listed on this web site to compare the different hospitals and choose the best one for your family.

(Please click here for hospitals outside the U.S.)

Financial Assistance:

Please see a list of organizations on the Heart Gift site that may be able to help children who need heart surgery.

ARKANSAS

Arkansas Children's Hospital

CALIFORNIA

Children's Hospital of Los Angeles

Lucille Packard Children's Hospital

University of California, San Francisco Medical Center

Children's Hospital of San Diego

Loma Linda University

Mattel Children's Hospital, UCLA