300 Longwood Avenue Boston, MA 02115 (617) 355-6000 Research: Pedro del Nido on fixing congenital heart defects Heart surgery has come a long way since Children's Robert Gross, MD, performed the world's first successful surgical repair of a congenital heart defect. Here, Pedro del Nido, MD, Children's current chief of Cardiac Surgery, discusses his goal of doing these delicate operations while the heart is still beating - using sophisticated new tools and imaging techniques - and avoiding the need for open-heart surgery and cardiopulmonary bypass. Clinical trials of beating-heart closure of atrial septal defects - holes in the wall dividing the two upper chambers of the heart - could begin as early as 2008. Del Nido also discusses the use of robotics in cardiac surgery, which could eventually be integrated with beating-heart techniques. View Clips ? ? About beating heart surgery... [13.7 MB]     About Atrial Septal Defect... [5.7 MB]     About Telerobotics... [5.3 MB]     About the Cardiovascular program at Children's Hospital Boston... [4.1 MB]     Note: RealPlayer is required to view these clips. The information on this website should not be taken as medical advice, which can only be given to you by your personal health care professional. Copyright © Children's Hospital Boston. All rights reserved.