Improved surgical technique,improved anaesthesia and postoperative intensive care,cardiopulmonary bypass and myocardial protection lead to better results in pediatric cardiac surgery,with excellent long term survival rate,therefore anesthesiologists are now more often required to deal with patients affected by congenital heart defects,for other than cardiac problems.The problems encountered by an anaesthesiologist dealing with a child or adolescent presenting with a congenital heart defect for ‘non-cardiac ’surgery have been reviewed,including some aspects of physiology and pharmacology.

Keywords: anaesthesia, paediatric, congenital heart defect