- Emergency
- Prenatal information.
- Congenital heart defects.
- Atrial septal defect (ASD).
- Atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD).
- Ventricular septal defect (VSD).
- Aortopulmonary window.
- Aortic arch anomalies.
- Coarctation of the aorta.
- Interrupted aortic arch.
- Persistent ductus arteriosus (PDA).
- Cor triatriatrum.
- Ebstein’s anomaly.
- Pulmonary stenosis.
- Fallot’s tetralogy.
- Coronary artery anomalies.
- D-transposition of the great arteries (d-TGA).
- Aortic stenosis (AS).
- Total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC).
- Pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum (PA + IVS).
- Double Outlet Right Ventricle (DORV).
- Truncus Arteriosus (TA).
- Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS).
- Univentricular heart (UVH).
- Treatment principles.
- Heart transplantation in infancy and childhood.
- Children's ward.
Congenital heart defects
Congenital heart defects are the most common organ malformation in humans. A large number of these heart defects require surgical treatment even in the newborn and early childhood period. Operations on the heart have to be performed with the aid of a heart-lung machine. The artificially induced cardiac arrest may sometimes be harmful for cardiac function in the long term. New and less aggressive treatment methods are therefore being researched.
A few heart defects can today be treated using "interventional" therapy in the catheter laboratory. The latest research allows these treatment methods to be employed in the operating theatre, with certain modifications. This is called "hybrid therapy", and is performed jointly by the paediatric cardiologist and the paediatric cardiac surgeon. Prosthetic materials are used at present, but they may be partially replaced in the future by absorbable or biological materials. Holes in the cardiac septa can be mended or heart valves can be replaced without using a heart-lung machine. Together with advances in modern imaging methods, it will be possible to plan the operations exactly and use “spare parts“ individually manufactured beforehand to correct the heart defect.