OAK LAWN, Ill. — Advocate Children’s Hospital has launched its first pediatric heart transplant program, marking a significant advancement in specialized care for young patients with severe heart conditions.
The program’s inaugural case involved 15-year-old Nataly Paramó from East Chicago, Indiana. What began as a routine physical before joining her high school basketball team turned into a medical emergency. During the exam, she was advised to go immediately to the emergency room at Advocate Children’s Hospital in Oak Lawn. There, doctors discovered her heart was dangerously enlarged and functioning poorly.
Nataly had no known history of heart disease. For more than a month, specialists in the pediatric intensive care unit worked to improve her condition. When it became clear that her heart could not recover on its own, doctors determined that a transplant was the only option. She became the first pediatric heart transplant recipient at the hospital.
Since Nataly’s groundbreaking procedure, two more children have undergone successful heart transplants at the facility. All three patients are now recovering at home.
“We are proud to offer the life-sustaining gift of transplant to our patients facing heart failure,” said Dr. Luca Vricella, director of pediatric cardiac surgery at Advocate Children’s Hospital. “This program ensures that these children and their families can remain with the trusted team they know throughout their entire journey. It represents a significant achievement for our hospital and a lifeline for some of the region’s sickest children.”
Pediatric heart transplants are relatively rare in the United States, with only about 500 performed annually, compared to around 4,000 adult transplants each year.
The new transplant program is the result of years of planning by the Chicagoland Children’s Health Alliance (CCHA) — a collaboration among Advocate Children’s Hospital, UChicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital, and Endeavor Health. The alliance performs more than 500 cardiac surgeries annually and has treated over 15,000 heart patients to date.
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