Interventional treatment of congenital heart disease patients.

During the last 10 years the interventional treatment of congenital and structural heart diseases has known enormous changes in techniques, methods and patients management. Lesions previously treated surgically are now approached in the catheterization laboratory. The advent of multidisciplinary approach of congenital heart disease has made possible the development of hybrid techniques, of fetal medicine and of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)- guided cardiac catheterization. Technological innovation has introduced new concepts in treatment of congenital heart disease patients and has allowed to adapt different techniques to single patients. The knowledge of the evolution of structural heart disease has allowed to chose the best percutaneous and/ or surgical technique and the best materials to optimize long term results. Improvement in non invasive imaging modality has allowed to diminish the radiation exposure and to provide useful information to interventional cardiologists and cardiac surgeons. Absorbable, drug eluting tools will change the treatment and probably the natural history of congenital and structural cardiac and vascular diseases.