Interventional cardiac catheterization in congenital heart disease.

Cardiac catheterization has proved its value as a major tool in the diagnosis of congenital cardiac defects. The advent of noninvasive imaging of various sorts has altered the role of diagnostic catheterization. Within the past two decades, cardiac catheter instruments to provide therapy have been applied to many lesions. Improvements in design and methods will expand the use of therapeutic catheterization. It is inevitable that better results will be obtained for those defects currently being treated that way, and undoubtedly the method will be applied to other conditions. These developments should continue to cement the relationship between pediatric cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons. As balloon atrioseptostomy led to more "corrective" operations for transposition patients, so these new techniques will lead to less frequent use of that regrettable term, inoperable.