DALLAS – To meet the growing need for expert congenital heart care in North Texas, Vivian Dimas, MD, Poonam P. Thankavel, MD, and Ilana J. Zeltser, MD, three highly distinguished pediatric cardiologists, have joined Medical City Children’s Cardiology Specialists.
Medical City Children’s Cardiology Specialists is a dedicated team of pediatric cardiologists who provide a compassionate, multidisciplinary approach to caring for the needs our youngest patients. From slight heart defects to complex heart conditions, these board-certified physicians bring world-class expertise in imaging, interventional cardiology and arrhythmias.
Medical City Children’s Cardiology Specialists offers advanced medical and surgical treatment options for children with all forms of congenital and acquired heart disease.
Vivian Dimas, MD
Vivian Dimas, MD is an interventional cardiologist and the Medical Director of Adult Congenital Heart Disease at Medical City Children’s Hospital and specializes in minimally invasive treatments of heart failure and other complex heart conditions. Dr. Dimas is board certified in both Pediatric and Adult Congenital Heart Disease. Dr. Dimas will lead a team in the coordination of care for children and adults who experience common and complex congenital heart conditions. She has expertise in the use of minimally invasive procedures and advanced techniques, such as percutaneous ventricular assist device implantation, and transcatheter valve replacement to treat various heart conditions. Dr. Dimas prides herself in ensuring all patients receive the highest level of evidence-based quality care, delivered with compassion.
Poonam P. Thankavel, MD
Poonam P. Thankavel, MD, is the Medical Director of Pediatric Cardiac Imaging at Medical City Children’s Hospital and specializes in perioperative imaging, and diagnosing and managing congenital coronary anomalies. Dr. Thankavel’s research and clinical interests include the use of echocardiography to diagnose complex congenital heart conditions and assist with perioperative management and surgical planning.
Ilana J. Zeltser, MD
Ilana J. Zeltser, MD, is the Director of Pediatric Electrophysiology at Medical City Children’s Hospital and specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric heart arrhythmias. Dr. Zeltser has expertise in provocative intracardiac electrophysiologic testing and ablation, and minimally-invasive permanent device placement, such as, pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillator, and implantable loop recorders to treat various heart arrhythmias. Dr. Zeltser research interests include athletics and pre-participation cardiovascular screening programs, and primary arrhythmia syndromes/channelopathies.
”The addition of Drs. Dimas, Thankavel and Zeltser to our Heart Center we continue to expand our world class care to all patients with congenital heart disease – the tiniest newborn babies to adolescents and adults with congenital heart disease,“ says Kristine J. Guleserian, MD, Chief of Congenital Heart Surgery at Medical City Children’s Hospital.
The Medical City Children’s Hospital Heart Center has treated patients from more than 125 countries and is the only program in Dallas with cardiovascular specialists who treat heart disease in pediatric and adult patients on the same campus, continuing care throughout the patient’s life. The program also works closely with the Maternal Fetal Institute, which provides specialized care for mothers carrying a baby with a congenital anomaly, including those who may require surgery before birth.
Medical City Children’s Hospital is a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), providing the highest level of care to the most medically fragile infants.