[Socio-professional acclimation of children operated on for cardiac disease]

In order to assess the socio-professional insertion of children operated for cardiac disease, 177 patients over 20 years of age completed a questionnaire about their scholastic achievements, training and socio-professional categories. This formation was compared with that of the French population based on the statistics of the "Institut national de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques" (INSEE). The cardiac patients were more likely to have technical occupations than the general population and their level of scholastic achievement reflected this tendency. They attained better professional situations than commonly thought. The analysis of the conditions of surgical treatment indicated that a single, curative and early operation is the best guarantee for future achievements. However, the foundation of a family is much more difficult for operated cardiac patients than for the general French population. Failure of socio-professional insertion is far from being a fatality and psychological problems play an important role, implicating the practitioner at three levels: patient, family and society. In order to be totally convincing, the study of the future of operated patients requires analysis of many different factors.