Adult cyanotic congenital heart disease.

The surgical treatment of cyanotic heart disease in the adult poses some technical difficulties in correcting severe anatomical deformities and compromised physiological states over a wide range of conditions. Various abnormalities and their surgical management have been reviewed. Forty-six patients over the age of 18 years have been operated with 10 operative deaths. Of the survivors, 63% have had excellent clinical result; 69.5% of the total group had an excellent or good result following surgery. It is concluded that the age of the patient is not a bar to the complete repair of these deformities, and all cases of adult cyanotic heart disease should be investigated with a view to surgical correction.