Montserrat Fontanals Caravaca

I have been an assistant in the Anaesthesiology Department at SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital since 2016. I am dedicated to paediatric anaesthesiology and specialise in the care of patients with congenital heart disease. I did my Residency in Anaesthesiology and Resuscitation at Hospital Clínic de Barcelona - Universitat de Barcelona (2012-2016). During one year (2017-2018) I did a Fellowship in paediatric anaesthesiology at the SickKids hospital (Hospital for the Sick Children) in Toronto, Canada. Subsequently, in 2023, I completed a second fellowship (ACGME approved) in paediatric cardiac anaesthesiology at Texas Children's Hospital, Houston USA. I also worked for a second year as an attending in the paediatric cardiac anaesthesiology service.

Currently my priority is to give the best personal and professional treatment to my patients and their families at SJD and to accompany them throughout the peri-operative process.

Training

• ACGME approved Clinical fellowship in Pediatric Cardiac Anesthesia. Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, United States of America. Baylor College of Medicine, 2023.
• Fellowship in Pediatric Anesthesia. SickKids (Hospital for Sick Children), Toronto, Canada. University of Toronto, 2018.
• European Diploma of Anesthesia and Intensive Care. (EDAIC). Part 1 (written examination in London, UK) and Part 2 (oral examination in London, UK), 2018.
• EFMCG - USMLE. United States Medical License Examination (Step 1, Step 2 CK, Step 2 CS, Step 3), 2016.
• Residency in Anaesthesiology and Resuscitation. Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Universitat de Barcelona, 2012-2016.
• Degree in Medicine. University of Barcelona, 2011.

International experience

• Pediatric Cardiac Anesthesiologist at Texas Children's Hospital. Assistant Professor at Baylor College of Medicine, 2024.
• Clerkship in Pediatric Plastic Surgery at Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard University (Boston, United States), 2010.
• Internship in Anesthesiology at LUMC Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum (Leiden, Netherlands), 2009.
• Internship in Gynecology at University Hospital Innsbruck, Austria, 2006.

Scientific activity

• 2024 - Cognitive Aids for Congenital Cardiac Anesthesia, Co-Author – Published at the CCAS website. Version 02.23.24.
• 2024 - Fontanals M, Doan TT, Adachi I, Trivedi P, Clinical and Echocardiographic Findings of Intraoperative Inferior Vena Cava Obstruction Following Orthotopic Heart Transplantation. JTCVS Techniques (2024). PMCID: PMC11145379.
• 2021 - Fontanals M. et al., Anesthetic Considerations and Complications of Cleft Palate Repairs. What’s New? Current Anesthesiology Reports.
• 2020 - Fontanals M. et al., Protocolo de anestesia en cirugía cardiovascular pediátrica (CCV) A-ANE-PC-0006-02.
• 2019 - Fontanals M. et al., Preoperative anemia increases the risk of red blood cell transfusion and prolonged hospital length of stay in children undergoing spine arthrodesis surgery. TRANSFUSION 2019;59;492–499.
• 2016 - Fontanals J. et al., Prognostic factors for in-hospital cardiopulmonary arrests. A review of 760 cases Med Clin (Barc). 2016 Jul 15;147(2):49-55. doi: 10.1016/j.medcli.2016.04.014. Epub 2016 May 26
• 2015 - A.M. López, G. Muñoz-Rojas, M. Fontanals et al., Evaluación clínica de la mascarilla laríngea Baska Mask® en pacientes adultos en cirugía mayor ambulatoria REDAR-562.

Teaching

• Online master's degree in anaesthesiology updates, Universidad Cardenal Herrera (CEU).
• AEPC Cardiovascular Intensive Care Training Course Course Directors: Nicole Sekarski, Joan Sánchez de Toledo (SJD Barcelona Children’s Hospital) April 3-4th 2025.