MCh · FNB
40 Paediatric Cardiac Surgery Thesis Topics
Academic session 2026-2027 · 40 topics
This page lists 40 paediatric cardiac surgery thesis topics for MCh and FNB candidates in India for the 2026-2027 academic session. The Indian caseload is defined by late presentation: children arrive for correction months or years after the optimal window, often malnourished and sometimes with established pulmonary vascular disease, and that changes both the operation and its outcome.
The paediatric cardiac surgery thesis topics below cover congenital repair by lesion group, cardiopulmonary bypass in small children, the perioperative and intensive care course, nutrition and growth around surgery, operability assessment in late presenters, and the access and cost questions that determine who reaches surgery at all. Forty rather than fifty, reflecting programme volumes.
Click any topic to open it in the protocol generator with the title already filled in.
- A cross-sectional study of the spectrum of congenital cardiac lesions operated at a paediatric cardiac unitGet protocol
- An observational study of the age at surgery and its determinants in congenital heart diseaseGet protocol
- A study of the reasons for delayed surgical correction in children with congenital heart diseaseGet protocol
- An observational study of perioperative outcome following surgical closure of ventricular septal defectGet protocol
- A study of the intensive care course following total correction of tetralogy of FallotGet protocol
- An observational study of the outcome of surgery for atrioventricular septal defectGet protocol
- A cross-sectional study of the surgical management of children with single ventricle physiologyGet protocol
- An observational study of the early outcome following the Fontan procedureGet protocol
- A study of the outcome of arterial switch operation in neonates and infantsGet protocol
- An observational study of the surgical management of children with coarctation of the aortaGet protocol
- A cross-sectional study of the operability assessment in children presenting late with shunt lesionsGet protocol
- A study of pulmonary artery pressure and its influence on surgical decision makingGet protocol
- An observational study of postoperative pulmonary hypertensive crisis and its managementGet protocol
- A cross-sectional study of cardiopulmonary bypass parameters in paediatric cardiac surgeryGet protocol
- An observational study of the association between bypass duration and postoperative outcomeGet protocol
- A study of haemodilution and transfusion requirement during paediatric cardiopulmonary bypassGet protocol
- An observational study of the modified ultrafiltration practice and its effect on outcomeGet protocol
- A study of myocardial protection strategy and postoperative cardiac enzyme release in childrenGet protocol
- An observational study of acute kidney injury following paediatric cardiac surgeryGet protocol
- A cross-sectional study of low cardiac output syndrome and its determinants after congenital heart surgeryGet protocol
- An observational study of the inotrope requirement and its duration after paediatric cardiac surgeryGet protocol
- A study of the duration of mechanical ventilation and its determinants in children after cardiac surgeryGet protocol
- An observational study of the indications and outcome of delayed sternal closureGet protocol
- A study of arrhythmia and its management in the early postoperative periodGet protocol
- An observational study of chylothorax and its management following paediatric cardiac surgeryGet protocol
- A cross-sectional study of the length of intensive care stay and its determinantsGet protocol
- An observational study of sternal wound infection following paediatric cardiac surgeryGet protocol
- A study of nosocomial infection in a paediatric cardiac intensive care unitGet protocol
- A cross-sectional study of the nutritional status of children at the time of cardiac surgeryGet protocol
- An observational study of weight gain following surgical correction of congenital heart diseaseGet protocol
- A study of the time to full enteral feeding after paediatric cardiac surgeryGet protocol
- An observational study of the association between preoperative malnutrition and postoperative outcomeGet protocol
- A cross-sectional study of the echocardiographic findings before discharge after congenital heart surgeryGet protocol
- An observational study of residual lesions detected on predischarge echocardiographyGet protocol
- A study of the concordance between preoperative and intraoperative anatomical findingsGet protocol
- A cross-sectional study of the out of pocket expenditure incurred by families for paediatric cardiac surgeryGet protocol
- An observational study of the waiting time from diagnosis to surgery and its determinantsGet protocol
- A study of the proportion of children advised surgery who do not proceed and the reasonsGet protocol
- An observational study of parental understanding of the child’s cardiac diagnosis and planned procedureGet protocol
- A cross-sectional study of parental anxiety surrounding paediatric cardiac surgeryGet protocol
Choosing a Paediatric Cardiac Surgery thesis topic
Why does late presentation matter so much in Indian paediatric cardiac surgery?
Because it changes what operation is possible. A child presenting at five years with a large ventricular septal defect may have pulmonary vascular disease that makes closure hazardous, and one presenting malnourished has a worse perioperative course. Documenting age at surgery, the reasons for delay, and the influence of both on outcome produces findings that are specific to this setting.
What outcomes are realistic in paediatric cardiac surgery?
Bypass and cross clamp times, inotrope score and duration, ventilation hours, intensive care and hospital stay, low cardiac output syndrome, delayed sternal closure, infection, thirty day mortality, and echocardiographic result at discharge. Reintervention and long term survival require years of follow-up and are outside a residency.
What sample size is realistic in this specialty?
Programme volumes vary widely between Indian centres. A busy unit performing several hundred paediatric cases a year supports one to two hundred participants; a smaller programme does not. Review the operative register for the preceding two years and consider a retrospective design if prospective numbers would be inadequate.
Thesis and protocol questions
How is a thesis topic different from a thesis protocol?
The topic is the title — the question a study sets out to answer, together with the population and the design. The protocol is the full document built around it: background, review of literature, aims and objectives, inclusion and exclusion criteria, sample size calculation, methodology, statistical plan, ethics considerations, consent documents and references. A topic is agreed with a guide first; the protocol is written afterwards and submitted to the institutional ethics committee.
When does a postgraduate thesis have to be submitted?
For most Indian postgraduate programmes the protocol is submitted within the first six months of joining, and the completed thesis is submitted at least six months before the final examination. Exact deadlines are set by the university, so the departmental circular for the current session takes precedence over any general timeline.
How is sample size decided for a postgraduate thesis?
Sample size follows from the primary objective, not the other way round. A prevalence study is powered from an expected proportion and an acceptable margin of error; a comparative study is powered from the expected difference between groups, the standard deviation, alpha and desired power. The figure should then be checked against the institution's actual case load for the study period, because a statistically ideal sample that cannot be recruited in the time available is not a workable plan.
Does a thesis topic need ethics committee approval?
Yes. Every postgraduate thesis involving human participants, human data or human samples requires clearance from the institutional ethics committee before data collection begins. Approval is granted on the protocol rather than on the title, and the submission usually includes the protocol, the participant information sheet and the consent form in English and in the local language.
What makes a topic realistic for a three-year postgraduate programme?
A workable topic can be completed at a single centre, with equipment and investigations that are already available in routine practice, within roughly eighteen months of data collection. Topics that depend on external funding, specialised assays, multicentre coordination or long follow-up tend to stall. Choosing a condition the department already sees in volume matters more than choosing a novel one.
Can a thesis be published as a research paper afterwards?
Yes, and it is generally expected. A thesis is usually condensed into a paper of around three to four thousand words, restructured into the standard introduction, methods, results and discussion format, with the review of literature shortened considerably. Journals differ in their requirements, and the ethics approval number from the original thesis is normally cited in the methods section.