ABTS Exam Information and Outline
Congenital Cardiac Surgery (CHS) - Part I
ABTS Exam Syllabus & Study Guide
Before you start practicing with our exam simulator, it is essential to understand the
official ABTS exam objectives. This course outline serves as your roadmap.
The information below reflects the 2026 syllabus defined by
ABTS.
Below are complete topics detail with latest syllabus and course outline, that will help you good knowledge about exam objectives and topics that you have to prepare. These contents are covered in questions and answers pool of exam.
1. Core Content Categories
- Embryology & Anatomy
- Heart Tube Formation: Looping (D-loop vs. L-loop), primitive chambers (bulbus cordis, truncus arteriosus).
- Septation: Formation of the atrial septum (primum, secundum) and ventricular septum.
- Neural Crest Cells: Their role in conotruncal development and outflow tract formation.
- Situs and Position: Situs solitus, inversus, and ambiguous; heterotaxy syndromes (asplenia and polysplenia).
- Diagnostic Modalities
- Echocardiography: Segmental approach to diagnosis, Doppler gradients, and valvular regurgitation.
- Cardiac Catheterization: Interpretation of pressure-volume loops, calculating Qp/Qs (pulmonary-to-systemic flow ratio), and PVR (pulmonary vascular resistance).
- Advanced Imaging: CT and MRI for assessing great vessel anatomy and ventricular volumes.
2. Specific Pathologies and Lesions
- Left-to-Right Shunts & Simple Defects
- Atrial Septal Defects (ASD): Secundum, primum, sinus venosus, and coronary sinus types.
- Ventricular Septal Defects (VSD): Perimembranous, muscular, subarterial (supracristal), and inlet defects.
- Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA): Management in premature infants vs. older children.
- Obstructive Lesions
- Left Heart: Coarctation of the aorta, Interrupted Aortic Arch (IAA), Aortic Stenosis (valvular, subvalvular, supravalvular).
- Right Heart: Pulmonary Stenosis and Peripheral Pulmonary Artery Stenosis.
- Cyanotic "Conotruncal" Lesions
- Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF): Management of "tet spells," repair techniques, and pulmonary valve replacement.
- Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA): D-TGA (Arterial Switch/Jatene) vs. L-TGA (Congenitally Corrected).
- Truncus Arteriosus: Classification (Collett & Edwards) and repair strategies.
- Single Ventricle Physiology
- Stage I: Norwood procedure, Sano shunt, or BT shunt.
- Stage II: Bidirectional Glenn or Hemi-Fontan.
- Stage III: Fontan procedure (extracardiac conduit vs. lateral tunnel).
3. Specialized Surgical Knowledge & Critical Care
- Extracorporeal Life Support (ECLS)
- Cardiopulmonary Bypass (CPB): Cannulation strategies, pH-stat vs. alpha-stat blood gas management, and deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA).
- ECMO: Indications, configurations (VA vs. VV), and weaning parameters.
- Perioperative Management
- Pharmacology: Vasoactive agents (milrinone, epinephrine), prostaglandins (PGE1) for ductal patency, and inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) for pulmonary hypertension.
- Arrhythmias: Management of postoperative heart block, JET (Junctional Ectopic Tachycardia), and pacemaker indications.
- Qp/Qs: Ratio of pulmonary to systemic blood flow; used to quantify shunts.
- PVRi: Pulmonary Vascular Resistance Index; critical for Fontan candidacy.
- Damus-Kaye-Stansel (DKS): Procedure to bypass systemic outflow tract obstruction.
- Warden Procedure: Repair for high SVC sinus venosus ASD with anomalous pulmonary veins.
- Ross Procedure: Pulmonary autograft used for aortic valve replacement.
- Rastelli Procedure: Use of a valved conduit to connect the RV to the PA in TGAs with VSD/PS.