Congenital heart disease. Changing concepts in the surgical treatment.

Probably the most important continuing advance in the treatment of congenital heart disease is the ever-diminishing risk of operations on the open heart. The uncomplicated septal defect or valvular stenosis is now corrected under direct vision with essentially the same risk as that which attends the routine operation for patent ductus arteriosus. Perfusion systems, and corrective heart operations, are now available for any patient who weighs 10 kilograms or more; palliative operations are often prescribed for critically ill patients weighing less than 10 kilograms. With respect to the future, successful removal and replantation of the heart in dogs opens the door for imaginative approaches to many states now considered inoperable. Still more inspiring is the realization that cardiac homotransplantation is surgically feasible and immunologically possible, if specific transplantation antigens can be isolated.