Activity & Service
The Division of Paediatric Cardiology of the Department has been established at the Grantham Hospital for over two decades. It is the major tertiary referral centre in Hong Kong providing a comprehensive paediatric cardiological service for children with heart diseases. We provide clinical services for in-patient, out-patient and day-patient.

A paediatric cardiac intensive care unit was established to look after post-operative and critically ill children with heart diseases. It provides nitric oxide inhalation therapy for treatment of post-operative pulmonary hypertension and mechanical circulatory support including intra-aortic balloon pump and ventricular assist device for treatment of low cardiac output syndrome.

A cardiac catheterization laboratory is dedicated for diagnostic and therapeutic cardiac catheterizations as well as electrophysiological studies and intervention in children.

The paediatric cardiac centre receives patients from the whole of Hong Kong and Macau. We also receive overseas referrals from Mainland China and Asian countries. We manage serious and complicated congenital heart diseases in the centre. Each year, the number of admission is about 1,000 and the Day Care Centre handles 1,800-2,000 children for pre-operative and pre-catheterization assessments, immediate post-operative re-evaluation and follow-up of high-risk cases. Cardiac out-patient attendance is about 9,000 a year.

More than 300 paediatric cardiac operations, including neonatal and complicated operations like arterial switch operation, neonatal repair of truncus arteriosus, Fontan operations, Norwood operations, Konno and Ross procedures, are performed in the centre.

A wide variety of therapeutic cardiac catheterizations are performed in our centre. Each year, we perform 400-500 cardiac catheterizations of which about 50% are therapeutic cardiac catheterizations. They include transcatheter occlusion of persistent arterial duct, atrial septal defect and ventricular septal defect; balloon valvuloplasty of pulmonary and aortic valvar stenosis ; balloon angioplasty of stenotic blood vessels; stent implantation of stenotic pulmonary arteries, aorta and various vascular stenoses. We also apply laser-assisted or radiofrequency-assisted balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty for treatment of pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum and other complex congenital heart diseases.

Our electrophysiologist offers not only electrophysiological studies, but also radiofrequency ablation and more recently cryoablation as well as pacemaker implantation to treat children with cardiac arrhythmias.

The Division of Paediatric Cardiology is a training centre not only for local paediatric cardiologists, but also for those from Mainland China, Macau and some Asian countries in the past two decades. The majority of local paediatric cardiologists and over 20 overseas paediatric cardiologists have gone through the training programme in our centre. We also participate in the training of paediatricians and specialist cardiac nurses.

As a member of the Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, we are actively participating in teaching of medical students and paediatric nurses. With regard to post-graduate education, we have MPhil students, PhD students and Master of Medical Science students being enrolled. The modules offered in the Master of Medical Science curriculum include principle and practice of paediatric cardiology, cardiac catheterization, echocardiography, investigation in paediatric cardiology and the long-term outcome of congenital heart disease.

Strength & Development

We are the major paediatric cardiac centre in Hong Kong. Our comprehensive service which produces high quality outcomes is provided by a dedicated and highly specialized multi-disciplinary team. We play a leading role in the overall development of paediatric cardiology in Hong Kong and in the introduction of new therapeutic modalities to treat heart disease in children. We are a training and educational centre for paediatric cardiologists, paediatricians, medical students and nurses. A good track record of research and publications has been maintained for the past decades. Our strong links with academic institutions in both China and overseas will further enhance our exchange of experience and collaborations in clinical service, education, training and research with these centres.

The future development of the Division will be focused on treatment of complex heart disease and to improve their outcome; introduction of new therapeutic cardiac catheterization techniques to treat congenital heart disease; establishment of an adult congenital heart programme and a more structured training programme for the future paediatric cardiologists. We will continue to strive for excellence in research. We hope that all these efforts will ultimately lead to provision of quality care to patients; improved outcome and advancement in medical and scientific knowledge.

Research/ Grant & Awards
We actively engage in paediatric cardiovascular research, the scope of which encompasses three domains: (1) congenital heart disease, (2) acquired heart disease, and (3) vascular function in health and disease. These three domains intersect and amalgamate to form the central theme of ventriculo-vascular coupling.

Our group has contributed to the literature regarding management and outcomes of the children with congenital heart lesions that are prevalent in this locality, namely subarterial ventricular septal defect, right atrial isomerism, critical pulmonary stenosis and pulmonary atresia.

In the current era of therapeutic cardiac catheterization, we have reported our experience in device occlusion, angioplasty, stent implantation and laser technology. We have also participated in a number of multi-centre trials for application of new devices.

With regard to exploring the paediatric use of non-invasive novel imaging modalities, we have contributed to the definition of the role of the dobutamine stress echocardiography and tissue Doppler imaging in the assessment of cardiac function in children with congenital and acquired heart disease.

We have studied cardiovascular risk factors for Kawasaki disease in Chinese children. A laboratory is established in recent years to study the cardiopulmonary function in children with heart diseases.

In the light of the importance of ventriculo-vascular interaction, our group is among the first to evaluate the significance of vascular function in health and disease in children. Non-invasive assessments of arterial stiffness and endothelial function performed in several at-risk cohorts have yielded important data which help our understanding of impact of prenatal growth and programming, vascular inflammation, iron overloading and upper airway obstruction on arterial function.

We have also collaborated with the scientists to improve our understanding on possible gene mutations in the etiology of congenital heart disease and the genetic influence on arterial function.

Collaboration
We have an extensive network with all the paediatric departments in Hong Kong and also provide out-reaching consultation services to many of these departments.

Our established close-links with the major paediatric cardiac centres in both China and overseas have facilitated various forms of collaborations and exchanges with these centres. A certificate course in paediatric cardiology, organized biennially by the division, has been well received by paediatricians, obstetricians and the nursing profession.

Besides clinical service, teaching, training and research, we have a strong link with the community. The Children's Heart Foundation was established in 1994 by a group of enthusiastic parents and some of our staff. With the collaborations of the Children's Heart Foundation, we have organized a variety of activities like exhibitions, pamphlets, public seminars and talks to raise public awareness of the problems of children with heart disease and to promote the concept that "Heart Health Begins in Childhood". Parent and adolescent support groups have been formed for experience sharing and provision of mutual support among patients and families. Through the Children's Heart Foundation, financial support is also provided for families in need.