This work summarizes the experience of the Department of Cardiac Surgery, University of Heidelberg with the surgical treatment of tracheal and cardiac anomalies in infants and children for a period longer than 20 years. The Heidelberg group lead by Prof. Siegfried Hagl succesfully introduced new operative techniques and achieved one of the best results reported in the contemporary surgical literature. The survival rate of over 94% is remarkable given the severe pathology and comorbidity involved and the complexity of surgical procedures. Two of the important messages of the work are:
- cardiopulmonary bypass is usefull tool in surgical treatment of congenital tracheal stenosis;
- more than 30% of the length of the trachea can be resected and reconstructed.
This work could be of interest for thoracic surgeons, cardiac surgeons, pediatricians, pathologists and all students in the field of congenital cardiac and respiratory pathology.