Florida Surgery Reviews

Wolfson Children's Hospital (Jacksonville, Florida)

What CHD does/did you child have? Ebstein's' Anomaly/ASD/WPW

What was done to correct this CHD? My daughter recently had an EP study, attempted ablation

Where was your child's surgery done? Wolfson Children's Hospital, Jacksonville, FL

When was the surgery done? April 2004

What did you think of the hospital and staff? This hospital is awesome. They were great with our daughter. The pre-op area has a playroom, fish tank, TV. and other things to keep them entertained. They put them asleep first and then put in the i.v. Most of the staff on sixth floor, which is where cardiac patients not in PICU go, was the same as a year ago. Some remembered our daughter. The sixth floor has a great playroom, a basketball area, and tricycles and other ride on toys they can ride around the floor. They had the telemetry units that allow the child to be monitored, yet free to play. They also have craft time twice a day. During the procedure itself, a nurse in the cath lab called us every hour to update us. Since the procedure lasted 9 hours, it was nice to know what was going on.

What did you think of the surgeon? Dr. Bryant is an EP. He is wonderful. He brought great diagrams to explain everything to us. Afterward, he used the diagrams to explain what he found. He also gave us a CD with the pictures they took during the procedure. He was just like a little kid explaining everything to us in that he was so excited. It was great to see that he really loves his job. He has a great personality with the kids too. He was genuinely upset that he could not ablate our daughter's second pathway.

Would you take your child back to this facility/surgeon? Definitely. I trust the facility and the surgeon totally.

Any advice for others looking at this facility/surgeon?

This is not one of the well-know programs for CHD, but they are affiliated with University of Florida. The doctors we have seen at the Pediatric Cardiovascular Center have all been great. They communicate with each other to make sure the right doctor is caring for the child (or adult as they have adult days too in clinic). They are not afraid to refer elsewhere either. Now that we know our daughter's WPW is quite complicated, and since we are moving, Dr. Bryant is going to contact the doctors who will be caring for her. This clinic also refers all patients with Ebstein's who need valve surgery to Mayo, since that is where the experts are. Wolfson Children's Hospital is one of the best according to US News. They have a low staff turnover, and a very child friendly facility. I highly recommend it.

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Miami Children's Hospital (Florida)

What CHD does/did your child have? Tricuspid Atresia, HRHS, SV

What was done to correct this CHD? 1st surgery - BT-Shunt and opening of arterial wall. 2nd Surgery - Glenn Operation and banding of the pulmonary artery

Where was your child's surgery done? Miami Children's Hospital

Who did the surgery? Dr. Redmond Burke

When was the surgery done? 1st surgery 01/03, 2nd Surgery 08/03

What did you think of the hospital and staff? Wonderful Hospital - great staff for the most part. Parents must be advocates for their children no matter where they go.

What did you think of the surgeon? ABSOLUTELY AWESOME! We love him.

Would you take your child back to this facility/surgeon? Absolutely - we wouldn't go anywhere else!

Any advice for others looking at this facility/surgeon? Dr. Burke is truly amazing and the facilities are state of the art for pediatric cardiology. The cath lab is one of the most advanced in the U.S.

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Miami Children's Hospital (Florida)

What CHD does/did you child have? Tetralogy of Fallot

What was done to correct this CHD? Full corrective open heart surgery at 3 months of age

Where was your child's surgery done? Miami Children's Hospital (Miami, Florida)

Who did the surgery? Dr. Redmond Burke

When was the surgery done? April 2003 when our daughter was 3 months old.

What did you think of the hospital and staff? Excellent. They were very supportive, offered lots of advice and care.

What did you think of the surgeon? Simply amazing. He is the one who we will recommend to others. He is very professional, very nice and easy to talk to Would you take your child back to this facility/surgeon? YES!!!

Any advice for others looking at this facility/surgeon? Try to schedule an appointment with the surgeon before the surgery, ask him any questions that you may have. Talking to him made us feel confident with our choice. We also had a scheduled tour of the hospital, that helped.

What was done to correct this CHD? Bi-directional Glenn, Shunt & Fontan (3 separate open hearts)

Where was your child's surgery done? Arnold Palmer Hosp. in Orlando, FL and St. Joseph's Hosp. in Tampa, FL

What did you think of the hospital and staff? Wonderful - I would highly recommend

What did you think of the surgeon? He was fantastic. Sadly he passed away 3 years ago in a traffic accident.

Any advice for others looking at this facility/surgeon? Contact Heidi Hess at St. Joseph's Hospital, Tampa.

What CHD does/did your child have? tricuspid atresia, double outlet right ventricle, D-Transposition of the great arteries, VSD, ASD, defective mitral valve, coarctation of the aorta and a hypoplastic left ventricle (lumped together - variant of HLHS)

What was done to correct this CHD? Heart transplant @ 38 days

Where was your child's surgery done? All Children's Hospital, St. Petersburg, FL

Who did the surgery? Dr. Hugh Van Gelder & Dr. James Quintessenza; Dr. George Daicoff retrieved the donor heart

When was the surgery done? January 14, 1997

What did you think of the hospital and staff? Beyond compare - excellent

What did you think of the surgeon? Incomparable!

Would you take your child back to this facility/surgeon? A resounding yes!

Any advice for others looking at this facility/surgeon? Trust your instincts, and trust God. The medical providers are just instruments in God's hands.

What CHD does/did your child have? :: ASD (Atrial Septal Defect), VSD (Ventricular Septal Defect a/k/a AV Canal Defect

Where was your child's surgery done? :: All Children's Hospital, St. Petersburg, FL

Who did the surgery? :: Dr. James Quintessenza

When was the surgery done? :: Apr 6 2006

What did you think of the hospital and staff? :: Very pleasant, communicative and capable - and I am a somewhat difficult parent to please. I ask a lot of questions, I micromanage my child's health care. The staff tolerated me (ha!) and they did their best to answer every question that I posed. If they could not answer it, they worked to find someone who could. I did find it exceedingly helpful for me to be there at least once per shift because there were sometimes things that needed communication from one shift to another. These were always things relative to my child's health care, although some were more significant/important than others.

What did you think of the surgeon? :: I cannot say enough good about Dr. Quintessenza (known as "Dr. Q" by most). He was EXCEEDINGLY THOROUGH in his communication with us, EXTREMELY PATIENT in making sure that we had all of our questions answered at all times. (We did NOT give him any "grief" - ha ha ha) He is quiet, humble, unassuming - very non-doctorish or egotistical as you might expect from someone with his level of expertise/experience. I would ADOPT this man if I could, but I believe that he already has parents.

Would you take your child back to this facility/surgeon? :: ABSOLUTELY and WITHOUT HESITATION!!

Any advice for others looking at this facility/surgeon? :: DON'T WALK, RUN!!! to Dr. Q's office. There is just not enough good that can be said about him. - RE: All Children's Hospital, be sure that you communicate well with the nurses (CVICU/NICU/PICU); not only your questions and your wishes, but also understand theirs and what they expect of you as a parent. They have a job, they have their "territory" and be careful if you decide to encroach upon it - especially if your need/want is trivial or not valid or you did not do your "homework" and don't fully understand the ramifications of your request. VISIT OFTEN and STAY LONG (perhaps to their dismay at times) and LEAVE for the 1hr shift change. DO NOT LEAVE feeling as though your questions have not been answered, DO NOT LEAVE worried, DO NOT LEAVE with any unresolved issues - because you may not see that particular nurse(s) again during your child's stay. KEEP YOURSELF INFORMED, BE FRIENDLY and BE REASONABLE; those 3 things will earn you the Good Parent label. - - There are 2 Ronald McDonald Houses within walking distance (but do not walk to the East House when it's dark out). BOTH are exceptional. You really need a car if you plan on having a "life" outside the hospital (i.e., long-term stays) so that you can go to downtown St. Pete & the surrounding area. The ACH Cafeteria food is GREAT and AFFORDABLE but you will want a change after a while. God Bless you in your/your child's journey. :)

Where was your child's surgery done? :: St. Joseph's Children's Hospital Tampa, FL

What did you think of the hospital and staff? :: The hospital and staff were out of this world, I would go back there if more surgery was needed.

What did you think of the surgeon? :: He was AWESOME and very NICE. Came and talked to us every chance he could.

Any advice for others looking at this facility/surgeon? :: Look for experience and also how friendly and clean the hospital is.

What was done to correct this CHD? Balloon Septostomy (1 day old), BT shunt (5 days olds), Glenn (4 months), upcoming Fontan

Where was your child's surgery done? St. Joseph's Children's Hospital in Tampa, FL