Twenty 2-12 year old children who underwent surgical intervention for IVC(without other malformations), were re-examined, together with their healthy siblings (controls), 2-9 years after operation (range 0.99-4.63). Post surgical bone age, height and weight were within the normal range, and post-surgical net gains in height and weight were 0.89 and 1.65 SD, respectively. There were no significant differences in IQ (Termal-Merril) between patients and controls. Human figure test (Goodenough-Koppitz) showed significantly greater emotional problems in patients (p<.05). Operated children had poor school performance, greater physical limitations to excercise, and lesser autonomy than the control group (p<0.05). Results show that in spite of complete anatomical correction and physical catch up after surgery, some years after intervention important emotional and psychological handicaps are detectable in these patients. This should lead us to re-consider the concept of “healing” in Pediatrics, and to carry out psychoprophilatic programs in chronic cardiac patients who undergo surgery.