Q&A: ‘No two patients alike’ for heart surgeon Pranava Sinha, MD

Caring for children with heart defects and disease requires a unique approach and a team specialized in working with kids and their families – something Pediatric Heart Surgeon Pranava Sinha, MD, has devoted his career to creating.

Sinha came on board as co-director of the Pediatric Heart Center at M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital earlier this year. In this role, he works with a multidisciplinary team to diagnose heart conditions early and prevent serious complications for children while making sure they feel as comfortable as possible during a difficult diagnosis. He also serves as Division Chief of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery at University of Minnesota Medical School and as the inaugural John Bass Chair in Pediatric Cardiovascular Health, a position created with funding from longtime Pediatric Heart Center supporters Franck and Katina Gougeon.

We asked Sinha about his first year at the Heart Center, and his unique approach to pediatric heart care.

What is some of the work you’re most excited about?

One of our main efforts right now is to establish a leading Pediatric Heart Center at Masonic Children’s Hospital for children will all forms of congenital heart disease.

We hope to achieve this by establishing highly specialized, needed programs within our Heart Center. For example, we recently launched our advanced cardiac therapies team for children who have end-stage heart disease. This brings together heart transplants, ventricular assist devices, and a host of other medical options for our patients and brings transplant into the continuum of therapies for children. Part and parcel with that is finding new ways to help children waiting for a heart make it to transplant in as heathy a state as possible. We know that the sicker you are going into any operation – including transplant – the harder it is to recover.

Another goal is to bring together a multidisciplinary team for management of complex lesions such as complex single ventricle cases, anomalous coronary arteries, complex pediatric airway disease, among others, which will allow us to better manage the most complex lesions. 

Families are an equally important part of the team and we’re working alongside families to deliver not just patient-centered but family-centered care to prepare families and children who need surgery to have the best possible outcome.