Is 17 an adult

Dear Editor,

We have read with great interest the study by Khan et al.^[1]: “Surgery for Tetralogy of Fallot in Adults: Early Outcomes”, published in the Brazilian Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery, volume 31, issue 4, pages 300-3.

While the authors should be congratulated for their efforts to develop a pediatric cardiac surgery program in a difficult context, we have some comments, concerns, and questions around this article.

According to the references of this article, there are a few publications reporting the primary surgical treatment of Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) during adulthood.

In fact, only two publications about TOF in adults are enumerated in the references and some important reports are missing, including one from Brazil^[2].

This manuscript describes a single center experience in primary repair of adults with TOF in Pakistan during a two-year time-frame.

They reported an impressive number of patients, but surprisingly they included patients between 12 and 43 years in this study.

The point at which a person progresses from childhood into adulthood may vary ac

when a person becomes an adult

when is someone an adult