Cardiac surgeons at the University of Chicago have developed a technique for treating a severe congenital heart malformation that is less invasive than open heart surgery.

According to Dr. Emile Bacha, several thousand children are born with Hypoplastic left heart syndrome each year in the US.

Traditionally, there have only been three options: heart transplant, major open heart surgery, or “simply do nothing,” Bacha said at the American Medical Association’s annual science reporters’ conference in Washington, DC.

The new “hybrid technique” is performed in a catheterization laboratory, where the chest is opened briefly, Bacha explained. The standard Norwood procedure (which the hybrid procedure replaces) requires a heart-lung machine, stopping the heart and extensive surgery.

The hybrid procedure takes much less time and requires a shorter hospital stay, Bacha said

“After the traditional approach, IQ and neurological development are below average for most patients. Our hypothesis is that, by avoiding major open heart surgery and the need to stop the heart, we will improve neurological outcome.”

The new technique is only a temporary, and children require follow-up surgeries to rebuild the heart. But this way, they will have a chance to grow and develop before having to face these major procedures.

Bacha’s team has so far used the new technique on 10 patients. There has been one in-hospital death, “despite this being a brand new procedure for us. Compare that to the Norwood which, after 25 years’ experience, is still associated with a 20 percent to 30 percent mortality rate.”

Clinical trials are “definitely” needed, Bacha added, and he and his colleagues are now discussing that with the National Institutes of Health.