From November 1976 to November 1986,1088 cardiac surgeries were performed in patients younger than fifteen years old. In 670 cases we used extracorporeal circulation, and in 418 we performed surgery without extracorporeal circulation. One hundred and eleven (10.2%) patients were reoperated. One hundred and twenty (11.1%) patients had acquired valvular heart disease. The total hospital mortality was 10.4%; 11.2% after extracorporeal circulation and 9.1% without it. We observed a decrease in the mortality rate in the years 1985 and 1986, corresponding to 6.8% and 5.7%, respectively. During this period (1985-1986) 179 patients were operated upon; 54 had cianotic congenital heart disease and 7 died (12,9%); 125 had cianotic congenital heart disease and 2 died (1.6%). The highest mortality rate occured in the first year of life (20.7%) while the lowest mortality was observed after the fourth year. Factors which influenced this decrease in mortality included: more frequent indication of palliative surgery in the first year of life; careful analysis of surgical anatomy; precise definitions of the moment of intervention and surgical techniques; better myocardial protection; physical and medical conditions in the post-operative phase and greater surgical experience.
heart disease, pediatric; heart disease, congenital