Foreword

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More than 20,000 pediatric cardiac operations are performed per year in the United States for congenital and acquired heart disease. The perioperative care of these patients is incredibly complex and requires the coordinated efforts of a sophisticated multidisciplinary team and state-of-the-art facilities and equipment. In this and the next issue of Current Problems in Surgery, Drs. Avihu Gazit, Charles Huddleston, Paul Checchia, James Fehr, and A. Thomas Pezzella from Washington University in St. Louis have written an insightful monograph entitled, “Care of the Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Patient.” This issue, Part 1, introduces the subject, outlining the state of the problem, pathogenesis, and pathophysiology. This is followed by a detailed discussion of the preoperative and operative management of these patients. This timely monograph provides the information necessary to deliver appropriate, evidence-based care to these patients in a single source.