Surgical Intervention in Congenital Heart Diseases

Surgical management of congenital heart disease is an essential component of treating children with congenital heart disease. Practitioners in the field of pediatric cardiology, prior to the mid-twentieth century, merely provided diagnosis with mostly ineffective supportive care. However, since the inception of surgical care more than eight decades ago, the ability to cure or palliate most congenital heart diseases has allowed many of these children to thrive and live long lives. In this chapter we review the evolution of congenital heart surgery and the surgical principles in managing various congenital heart lesions.