The Bedside Cardiac Procedure, Once Requiring Transport of Fragile NICU patients to a Catheterization Lab, is now performed directly in the NICU by Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Heart Institute Doctors, Reducing the Risks Associated with Moving Premature Infants

MIAMI, April 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The team at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital’s Heart Institute has successfully performed the first traveling bedside transcatheter patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) closure on a 22-week-old premature infant weighing 800 grams within Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Fort Lauderdale, located on the campus of Broward Health Medical Center. Performed within the baby’s own isolette, interventional cardiologists are able to close the PDA without needing to transport infants and expose them to risks at such a fragile state.

The benefits to the bedside procedure that outweigh traditional methods involving moving the premature newborn from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to a Cath Lab include:

• Increased stability of the patient and preventing the stress of transporting a fragile baby
• Eliminated risks associated with transporting fragile newborns
• Early intervention that allows improved lung recovery
• A Minimally invasive technique that involves a small catheter to close the vessel without a chest incision

A small blood vessel that typically closes soon after birth, a PDA that remains open causes excess blood to flow to the lungs. The extra blood flow can contribute to breathing problems, feeding difficulties, poor growth and other complications. Using a small catheter inserted through a vein, doctors are able to place a tiny device that closes the PDA from the inside.

The innovative procedure was led by Dr. Shyam Sathanandam, chief of cardiovascular medicine and co-director of the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Heart Institute. A renowned leader in pediatric cardiology research, Dr. Sathanandam is a pioneer in the development and expansion of the traveling bedside transcatheter PDA closures around the world. In 2018, he launched the International PDA Symposium, the first multispecialty global conference dedicated to advancing the management of PDA in preterm newborns.

“The traveling bedside PDA closures represent a pivotal shift in how we care for our most fragile patients and their tiny hearts,” says Dr. Sathanandam. “These premature infants are tiny but mighty. Our goal is to bring interventional therapy directly to the infant’s isolette in NICUs throughout the community which eliminates unnecessary risks associated with transporting the babies out to tertiary centers. This also allows us to intervene early; at the precise moment when it matters most. I am honored my dedicated team and I can bring this life-saving care directly to families in Broward County and across South Florida.”

This first traveling bedside PDA closure was performed by the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Heart Institute at Broward Health Medical Center, in the new Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Fort Lauderdale. In a strategic collaboration between Nicklaus Children’s Health System and Broward Health, Nicklaus Children’s assumed operations of pediatric services at Broward Health’s Fort Lauderdale and Coral Springs campuses in March, including inpatient, NICU, PICU, hematology and oncology infusion and pediatric emergency services. This affiliation aims to increase access to care while reducing the number of children who must travel outside Broward County for advanced treatment.

Nicklaus Children’s Hospital is ranked among the nation’s “Best Children’s Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report, with seven specialty ranked programs, including Nicklaus Children’s Heart Institute ranked the #1 heart program for children in South Florida.

About Nicklaus Children’s Health System Where Your Child Matters Most ™

For more than 75 years, Nicklaus Children’s Health System has stood as a beacon of hope for children and families across the state of Florida and beyond. Nicklaus Children’s Hospital is South Florida’s #1 nonprofit, freestanding specialty licensed hospital exclusively for children. Nicklaus Children’s provides pediatric care across a growing network of hospital and community-based partnerships, including care within NCH North Hospital in Naples, Jupiter Medical Center, select Baptist Health Hospital pediatric emergency units, and Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Fort Lauderdale and Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Coral Springs each located on the campuses of Broward Health. The hospitals and their network of more than 35 outpatient care locations offer lifesaving care in Miami-Dade, Broward, Martin and Palm Beach counties. outpatient locations include an array of urgent care, pediatric primary care and subspecialty care centers and are either hospital-based or outpatient locations under Nicklaus Children’s Pediatric Specialists, LLC (NCPS). Providing a pipeline of future physicians and groundbreaking research, Nicklaus Children’s is an academic and clinical affiliate of the Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. Nicklaus Children’s is home to centers of excellence including the Helen & Jacob Shaham Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute, the Nicklaus Children’s Orthopedic, Sports Medicine and Spine Institute, Nicklaus Children’s Neuroscience Institute and Nicklaus Children’s Heart Institute. The 474-bed system is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine, with many programs routinely ranked among the nation’s best by U.S. News & World Report since 2008. Nicklaus Children’s also includes a nonprofit physician practice subsidiary with more than 40 pediatric specialties and an ambulatory surgery center. For more information, visit nicklauschildrens.org.

Contact:
Alejandra Sanchez, PR Specialist
Nicklaus Children’s Health System
Alejandra.sanchez@nicklaushealth.org

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/first-traveling-bedside-pda-closure-performed-at-nicklaus-childrens-hospital-fort-lauderdale-nicu-302750609.html

SOURCE Nicklaus Children’s Health System