Children's Hospital of Wisconsin opens state's first pediatric hybrid catheterization lab

Children's Hospital of Wisconsin's Herma Heart Center opened Wisconsin's first and only pediatric hybrid catheterization lab earlier this year. The hybrid cath lab allows specialists to perform procedures that could require a combined catheter-based and surgical interventional approach – a capability that no other pediatric cath lab in the state has. 

Cardiac catheterization is used to find and then repair heart abnormalities. This new state-of-the-art cath lab allows staff to provide safe heart repairs for infants and children in the most minimally invasive manner available.

"The hybrid cath lab enhances our commitment to providing the best and safest care for our patients," said Stuart Berger, MD, medical director of Cardiology and The Leigh Gabrielle Herma Chair for Cardiology at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. "The lab combines a surgical room environment with advanced imaging technology." Dr. Berger also is a professor and chief of Pediatrics (Cardiology) at The Medical College of Wisconsin and a member of Children's Specialty Group.