CONGENITAL HEART-DISEASE AND CARDIAC-SURGERY IN CHILDREN

In the period reviewed, more than 150 papers were published on congenital heart disease in English, Dutch, Spanish, French, Italian, and German, the majority dealing with specific operative procedures, general surgical management, indications for and results of palliative and corrective operations, and mid- and long-term postoperative outcome. New aspects of cardiological interventions are noteworthy, especially the dilation of valves and vessels and the use of occluding devices in hitherto untouched regions. A great deal of new information has been published with respect to specific lesions, such as tetralogy of Fallot, transposition of the great arteries, pulmonary atresia, and the univentricular circulation. This will certainly change our management of these patients in the future. Several large centers again showed how fruitful the close collaboration between cardiac surgeons and ''interventionists'' can be.