Several of the new chapters review the avant-garde advances in pediatric cardiac surgery, including mini- mally invasive congenital heart surgery, pediatric mechanical circulatory support, interventional cardiology, intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography, nomenclature and classification issues for congenital heart surgery, and surgical ablation of arrhythmias. In addition, updated and expanded chapters in embryology of the heart and great vessels and congenital heart disease in the adult highlight the advances that have been made in these fields. The other chapters dealing with the gamut of congenital heart surgery have been written by experts in the field.