Congenital heart disease is a heterogeneous group of intra- and extra-cardiac abnormalities of very variable prognosis, which have been classified according to their structural and functional consequences. The functional abnormalities are mainly centered on variations of pulmonary arterial flow that can generally be managed by simple palliative procedures. The extra-cardiac abnormalities affect preferentially the aorta. They may be embryonic vascular remnants responsible for tracheo-bronchial compression or obstructive lesions which are amenable to different types of vascular reconstruction procedures. These anomalies may be isolated or form part of a more complex malformative syndrome. Complete repair may be possible using techniques adapted to the main structural abnormalities of the cardiac architecture: reconstruction of the atrial or ventricular septa, restoration of the ventricular outflow tracts and redirection of blood flow within the atria. Among the therapeutic motivations developed for complete repair over the last decade, reconstruction of the pulmonary arteries by unifocalisation and Ross' procedure for left ventricular outflow tract abnormalities deserve special mention; in addition, a major therapeutic principle has been established for repair of ventriculoatrial malposition and discordance: the re-connection of the aorta with the left ventricle.