Sometimes people are born with abnormalities of the heart or major blood vessels. Surgery may be required to repair these defects and may be performed during childhood or left until adulthood.

Congenital heart surgery can involve:

• Repairing the abnormality e.g. repairing defects in the internal walls of the heart with stitches or a patch made from the patient’s own tissue or from an artificial source or
• A procedure that will make the patient feel more comfortable but that will not necessarily correct the defect e.g. inserting a tube to connect the aorta to the pulmonary artery to increase the blood flow to the lungs.