[Complete surgical correction of congenital cardiopathies in infants]

The results of total correction of congenital heart defects in the first year of life are presented. Overall surgical mortality in these generally highly symptomatic infants was 35%. The surgical risk is mainly related to the type of defect: mortality is low (10%) in uncomplicated septal defects and in transpositions of the great vessels, higher in the coarctation syndromes (30%), and considerable in complex heart defects. The weight of the infant seems to be another factor, surgical mortality being high when the patient's weight is less than 4.5 kg. Indications for palliative operation or total repair are discussed on the basis of the presented results.