[Czech paediatric cardiac surgery - history and presence]

The beginnings of the Paediatric Cardiac Surgery in the Czech Republic date back to the period immediately after the end of World War II. Its protagonists were Prof. Emerich Polák from the Surgical Clinic in Prague, Vinohrady, Prof. Jan Bedrna from Surgical Clinic in Hradec Kralove, Prof. Vladislav Rapant from Surgical Clinic in Olomouc and Prof. Václav Kafka from the Second Surgical Clinic in Prague. They started with operations of the patent ductus arteriosus, the Blalock-Taussig shunt in cyanotic heart defects and resection of coarctation of the aorta. Operations of congenital heart defects, on the open heart were elaborated namely by cardiosurgeons in Brno, under the leadership of Professor Jan Navrátil. On the extension of those methods participated Professor Jaroslav Procházka in Hradec Kralove and Prof. Václav Kafka at the newly opened department of Paediatric surgery in Prague. In the next period, attention of paediatric cardiac surgery was directed at operations of critical congenital heart defects in the smallest children. Palliative operations of the critical heart defects in newborns and infants were first introduced at the clinic of paediatric surgery of the Paediatric University Hospital in Prague. Radical operations of infants and newborns with extra-corporal circulation were elaborated in the Children's heart centre in Prague, Motol. Initiative in the further development of paediatric cardiac surgery was taken over by the Children's heart centre in Prague since its founding in 1977. There was concentrated all medical care of children born with a congenital heart defect in the Czech Republic. This concentration of specialized care at one institution allowed to accumulate extremely large experience with the diagnostics and surgical treatment of congenital heart defects in all age groups with the decrease of patients mortality after operations to 1% even for the smallest children and enabled continuously monitor the quality of life of patients treated for congenital heart defect up to adulthood. It was followed by a system of care for adults with congenital heart defect in cooperation with cardiac surgery departments for adults. Excellent level of paediatric cardiac surgery in the Czech Republic is currently confirmed by comparison of the results in the global database operations of congenital heart defects, led by the European Association for Cardiothoracic Surgery (EACTS).