The Fetal and Neonatal Cardiology Program, headed by Nina Gotteiner, MD, and Sheetal Patel, MD, ensures that families expecting a new baby with heart concerns receive the best diagnostic and counseling care available.
Our fetal/neonatal heart care team, which includes specialists from the Heart Center and The Chicago Institute for Fetal Health, evaluates fetuses of mothers with health conditions such as diabetes, lupus and Sjögren syndrome, which can affect heart development. We also treat a wide range of fetal and neonatal heart conditions, including:
The Heart Center provides specialized ultrasound imaging of the heart during pregnancy (fetal echocardiography). Each year our pediatric cardiologists perform more than 1,700 fetal echocardiograms at multiple sites in the greater Chicago area, with a diagnostic accuracy that exceeds 95%. The pediatric cardiologist is able to provide immediate results to the mother at the time of the scan.
Our partnership with Prentice Women's Hospital allows Lurie Children’s to offer complete heart care for expectant mothers’ babies as well as newborn infants. Prentice is connected to Lurie Children's by a bridged walkway. This proximity enables our cardiology team to intervene early in cases of complex heart disease and provide a seamless transfer of the newborn’s care to the Regenstein Cardiac Care Unit at Lurie Children’s.
Our cardiac surgical team at Lurie Children’s, headed by Carl Backer, MD, Division Head, Cardiovascular-Thoracic Surgery, and Joe Forbess, MD, MBA, Associate Division Head, Cardiovascular-Thoracic Surgery, is supported by neonatologists, dedicated cardiac anesthesiologists and our team of cardiac intensivists led by John Costello, MD, director of the Regenstein CCU. We participate in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons database, and our surgical outcomes are in the top 5% of 111 participating programs in the United States and Canada. The Society of Thoracic Surgeons also rated Lurie Children’s as a 3-Star hospital, the highest rating level awarded, in their Fall 2017 Harvest Report of the STS Congenital Cardiac Surgery Database.
The Heart Center at Lurie Children’s offer services that are not widely available elsewhere, including:
At your first appointment, you can expect to receive a fetal echocardiogram. A pediatric cardiologist will perform this heart ultrasound and will discuss the findings and treatment options with you immediately after the scan. The pediatric cardiologist also will discuss the test results with your obstetrician and coordinate any needed treatment.
If an abnormality is identified on prenatal screening, a prenatal consultation to discuss anticipated surgery or other care after birth can be arranged at Lurie Children's through The Chicago Institute for Fetal Health. This consultation will be arranged with the cardiac specialists who will be involved in your child’s care after birth. In addition to a cardiologist, this team may include a cardiac surgeon, cardiac critical care specialist and neonatologist. The specialists will discuss and coordinate the best treatment plan for your baby after birth, and may review anticipated procedures, expected length of stay and anticipated surgical results. Our specialty programs offer a multi-disciplinary team of specialists committed to the best outcomes.
The Priority Second Opinion outpatient consultation program is a multidisciplinary clinic where infants and children with diagnosed cardiac defects can be evaluated by cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, cardiac intensivists and interventionalists. This visit provides the opportunity for families to meet with the cardiac team and tour the Regenstein Cardiac Care Unit during their visit.
Our multidisciplinary team includes the following groups:
Fetal/neonatal pediatric cardiologists: Nina L. Gotteiner, MD; Sheetal Patel, MD; George R. Verghese, MD, MBA; Michael Carr, MD; Tania Saroli, MD; Angira Patel, MD; Joy T. Johnson, MD, MS; and Nazia Husain, MD. All are board-certified pediatric cardiologists with extensive experience in fetal and neonatal imaging and care.
The Regenstein Cardiac Care Unit specialists: John Costello, MD; Bradley S. Marino, MD; Mary McBride, MD; Conrad Epting, MD; Eric Wald, MD; and Kiona Allen, MD.
Neonatologists: Headed by Nicolas Porta, MD.
Pediatric heart surgeons: Carl Backer, MD; Joseph M. Forbess, MD, MBA; Osama Eltayeb, MD; and Michael Mongé, MD. All are board-certified cardiothoracic surgeons with additional certification in congenital cardiovascular surgery.
Dedicated pediatric cardiac anesthesiologists: The Lurie Children's Heart Center is home to the only anesthesia program in Illinois where each anesthesiologist is board-certified and fellowship-trained in pediatric anesthesia. Learn more.
Our team routinely collaborates with pediatric experts at Lurie Children’s in areas such as:
For Fetal Patients
To make an appointment with The Chicago Institute for Fetal Health or for a second opinion about in utero heart defects, please call 1.866.338.2524 (1.866.FETAL24) or e-mail fetalhealth@luriechildrens.org.
For Infants/Children
Those desiring a second opinion about treating infants and children with heart defects should call Silvana Illescas at 312.227.4240.
For Physicians
For urgent consultations, MFMs or pediatric cardiologists can reach our specialists by calling 1.866.338.2524 (1.866.FETAL24) or emailing fetalhealth@luriechildrens.org.
