The best time for treatment of precordial disease

  The best timing of surgery depends on a number of factors, including the complexity of the congenital malformation, the age and weight of the child, and the general development and nutritional status of the child. Generally, for simple congenital heart, it is recommended to be 1 – 5 years old, because too young, low weight, poor general development and nutritional status will increase the risk of surgery; too old, the heart will compensate for the increase in size, and some may even have increased pulmonary artery pressure, which will also increase the difficulty of surgery and longer recovery time after surgery.  For those with combined pulmonary hypertension, serious congenital malformations that affect growth and development, malformations that threaten the life of the child, or complex malformations that require staged surgery, the earlier the surgery the better, regardless of age.  In general, congenital heart disease cannot heal on its own and requires surgical or interventional treatment. However, for atrial defects with a caliber of less than 0.5 cm and ventricular defects with a caliber of less than 0.2 cm, no treatment is needed, and it will not adversely affect the function and growth of the child’s heart.  However, due to the presence of heart murmur in children, which has certain impact on future education, employment and marriage, and the surgery is now very mature, some parents still choose surgery due to these social factors. There are also small defects, such as ventricular defects in the sub-stem area, which require aggressive surgical treatment due to their proximity to the aortic valve, regardless of the size of the caliber.