[Advances and perspectives in heart surgery].

Significant advances in five areas of cardiac surgery have contributed to better short and long term results. These include: the use of hypothermia and cardioplegic solutions for intraoperative myocardial protection. Improvement in design and hemodynamic characteristics of prosthetic valves. Refinements in electrosurgical techniques for the treatment of arrhythmias refractory to medical therapy. Improvement in circulatory assist devices including the total artificial heart, and significantly better results in heart transplants due to a better understanding of immunosuppression and infection control. Current information on these five areas is summarized.