The congenital heart diseases are usually diagnosed early in life and are surgically corrected at young age. Sometimes the patient present with symptoms later and the congenital defect is discovered.

Adult congenital heart surgery includes many types of congenital defects which include

• Atrial septal defect: which is a hole in the septum between the atria of the heart.
• Ventricular septal defect: which is a hole in the septum between the ventricles of the heart.
• Aortic valve stenosis and regurge.
• Coarctation of the aorta: which is a narrowing in the descending thoracic aorta.
• Fallot’s tetralogy: which is a complex disease with many defects.
• Other lesions which are less common to present in the adult life.

The surgery usually last between 4 – 5 hours. The surgery is done by either a conventional surgical incision in the middle of the chest or by minimally invasive approach by a smaller chest incision or with the use of video-assisted thoracoscope.

The surgeon will repair the congenital defects either directly or with the use of prosthetic material according to the type of the disorder and with the use of the heart-lung machine. .

After surgery, the patient will stay in the hospital according to his condition and his doctors decision for few days, which usually about 5-7 days (few days in the post-operative ICU and the rest is the ward)

The patient is expected to return to his daily activities and resume driving after 6 – 8 weeks after surgery.