[Surgical approach to adult with congenital heart disease]

The number of adults with congenital heart disease will inevitably increase in the near future. Recent data suggest that the number of adults with congenital heart disease, whether repaired or not, approaches the number of children with the disorder. Cardiac surgery in these patients presents major difficulties in management and technique. This especially applies to cardiac reoperation, which is one of the most frequent interventions and the most common cause of death in these patients. The present study reviews our experience with a large population of 811 consecutive patients who underwent cardiac operation or reoperation between January 2000 to December 2009 at our Institution.