Department of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery in Gdansk in its new location – previous activity and perspectives for development

The Department of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery in Gdansk is the only pediatric cardiac surgery center in northern Poland providing comprehensive treatment to children with congenital heart defects. The department was established in 2008 as a subdepartment of the Mikołaj Kopernik Hospital in Gdansk [1]. This was made possible by a decision of the Pomeranian local government, which embarked on a mission to develop a modern center providing comprehensive surgical treatment to children. A new cardiac surgery subdepartment was created based on the existing Pediatric Surgery Clinic, complementing the treatment offer of the hospital with highly specialized procedures for children with congenital heart defects.
In its first location, the department received support from the Polsat Foundation, which co-funded the construction and adaptation works in the rooms intended for the pediatric cardiac surgical team. The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (WOŚP, Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy) Foundation purchased the basic equipment for the department, enabling the team to initiate their congenital heart defect treatment program in its full scope and, thanks to a heart-lung machine received from the WOŚP Foundation, to conduct surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass in the smallest children. When a pediatric interventional radiology laboratory was opened and the team was supplemented with specialists in interventional cardiology, it became possible to perform interventional and hybrid procedures, which served as a foundation of the “Gdansk Hybrid Heartlink” program. Prof. Zbigniew Religa, the Minister of Health, became the honorary patron of the Department, while Prof. Bohdan Maruszewski, the Head of the Club of Polish Cardiac Surgeons, offered his professional and organizational support.
The passage of time revealed the actual needs of the region in terms of comprehensive pediatric cardiac surgery, mainly in neonates and infants with congenital heart defects. Demographic requirements resulted in the strengthening of the pediatric cardiac surgery program in Gdansk, together with the separation of pediatric and cardiac surgical activity. It is estimated that the Department of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery operates within an area populated by approximately 5 million people from northern Poland. Apart from the Pomeranian region, it also serves the following voivodeships: Kuyavian-Pomeranian, Warmian-Masurian, West Pomeranian, and Podlaskie. Neonates and infants...


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