There has been a recent trend toward hybrid cardiac catheterization procedures for the treatment of patients with various forms of congenital heart disease. Hybrid procedures offer the combined advantages of outstanding imaging in a full operating room environment, allowing direct access onto the heart or the great vessels for access or procedure completion, or complementary imaging before, during, or after surgical correction when necessary. With the increase in frequency of hybrid procedures, more medical centers are contemplating the conversion of standard cardiac catheterization rooms to hybrid facilities, or de novo construction. In this report, we detail a single-center experience of conversion from a standard catheterization facility into a hybrid suite. The strategic planning, design, system integration, and the challenges inherent to this project are discussed. Many of the solutions to these challenges are likely to be applicable to other institutions planning on similar hybrid conversion or construction.
(c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.