Congenital and paediatric cardiac surgery fellowships

About this area of training

Congenital cardiac surgery fellowships train surgeons to operate on structural heart disease from the neonatal period through to adult congenital heart disease. Training is concentrated in children's hospitals and large congenital centres, where case volume and a full multidisciplinary team are essential to the learning.

Posts range from long clinical fellowships with progressive operating responsibility to short, society-funded travelling fellowships for surgeons who already practise in congenital surgery and want to add specific techniques. Programme pages record the type, duration, language and application route for each.

For example, Children’s Hospital Colorado offers a one-year fellowship with progressively greater responsibility in congenital heart surgery. Its entry criteria require thoracic surgery residency to be completed by enrolment. Use the comparison below to check prior training and follow each official source for the application route.

Compare fellowship pathways

Examples from the directory. Compare format and prior training, then open the profile for participation, funding and application details. Confirm the current cycle with the official source.

Listed fellowships

Open and upcoming calls come first. Select a fellowship for eligibility, application route and its official source.

What training typically covers

• Neonatal and infant repair of complex lesions
• Staged single-ventricle palliation and Fontan completion
• Valve, conduit and outflow tract reconstruction
• Adult congenital heart disease and reoperation
• Paediatric mechanical circulatory support, ECMO and heart transplantation
• Perioperative management with cardiology, anaesthesia and paediatric intensive care teams

Who it suits

Congenital programmes generally expect completed training in cardiac or cardiothoracic surgery, and many ask for prior exposure to paediatric cardiac surgery. Some travelling fellowships are aimed at early-career congenital surgeons or at surgeons who have recently completed congenital training. Language, licensing and credentialing for work with children are often stricter than for adult posts, so confirm them early.

Where to train

Countries: United States (24), India (8), Brazil (7), Canada (5), Germany (3), Indonesia (3), United Kingdom (3), Australia (2), International (2), Singapore (2), Spain (2), Argentina (1), Chile (1), Egypt (1), Iran (1), Ireland (1), Malaysia (1), Mexico (1), Netherlands (1), North America (1), North Macedonia (1), Pakistan (1), Peru (1), Qatar (1), Saudi Arabia (1), South Korea (1)

Institutions: AATS Foundation (2), Boston Children's Hospital (2), Europäisches Kinderherzzentrum München (TUM Klinikum Deutsches Herzzentrum / LMU Klinikum) (2), Narayana Health City, Bommasandra (2), Alder Hey Children's Hospital and Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital (1), Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham) with Institut Jantung Negara and Children's HeartLink (1), Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (1), Amrita School of Medicine / Amrita Hospital, Faridabad (Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham) (1), Baylor College of Medicine / Texas Children's Hospital (1), CardioPedBrasil, Hospital da Criança e Maternidade (Funfarme) (1), Children's Health Ireland (CHI) at Crumlin (1), Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) (1) and 59 more.

Clinical focus within these fellowships

• Congenital surgery (75)
• Transplant & MCS (9)
• Research & outcomes (3)
• Aortic surgery (3)
• Valve surgery (3)
• Critical care (1)

Counted from programme titles and focus lines. A fellowship can belong to more than one group, and each group page lists every fellowship that names it.

How to choose a programme

• Look at annual congenital case volume and the range of complexity, and ask how operating time is shared between fellows and consultants.
• Check whether the post is clinical, observational or research, because congenital centres often limit hands-on work for visiting fellows.
• Confirm language and registration requirements, which differ sharply between countries.
• Ask about the follow-up pathway: who you will work with after the fellowship and whether the host supports the transfer of techniques to your home unit.

Related guides

• Evaluate operative exposure
• Clinical fellowship, observership or research?
• Understand licensing and registration
• Plan the true cost of international training

Related subspecialties and topics

• Adult cardiac surgery fellowships107 fellowships
• Transplant and mechanical circulatory support fellowships43 fellowships
• ECMO and ECLS fellowships38 fellowships
• Cardiothoracic critical care and cardiac anaesthesia fellowships15 fellowships