Repair of congenital heart deffects

There are many different kinds of congenital heart defects—that is, abnormalities in the heart’s structure present since birth. They vary significantly in their frequency and complexity, as well as in when symptoms first occur and how severe the symptoms are.

Very serious congenital heart defects must be treated in infancy, but some defects don’t become a problem until many years later; or sometimes, a repair made in infancy requires re-repair in adulthood. Dartmouth-Hitchcock (D-H) offers adult re-repair of congenital defects that were operated on in infancy or childhood, as well as repair of congenital defects that don’t become evident until adulthood.

How is repair of a congenital heart defect accomplished?
There are almost as many ways to repair congenital heart defects as there are such defects. In some cases, however, the repair or re-repair in adulthood of a congenital defect is similar to the repair of acquired diseases on the same part of the heart. Your surgeon will be able to explain in detail the exact process by which your repair will be accomplished.

Congenital heart defects are typically repaired via open surgery. In some cases, however, such procedures can be accomplished using minimally invasive techniques. The appropriate approach depends on many factors, from the specifics of your defect to the overall state of your health. These are the primary options; your surgeon will determine which one is best in your particular situation:

Open-heart surgery 
Minimally invasive surgery