Many complex congenital heart disease are very rare. Some procedures are rarely performed. If they are no reported, many patients can be incorrect diagnosis or treatment. Increase in the number published and correct judgement of the cases can be to solve the problem of great number of cases that are send.
Interesting and highly debatable question. I would argue as follows:
Reporting a new or unique disorder, is interesting. In this day and age, it rapidly becomes of historical interest only ("...the first case reported ever..."). A report which assists in the better understanding of a new disorder or the management thereof would be of more interest. Just adding another anecdotal case that does neither of the two, achieves little. The value of these obscure cases is extremely limited to the active practicing surgeon or physician. On the other hand, a case report illustrating an unusual characteristic or management of a more common condition could be of real value to the busy surgeon or physician. These, I think are worth considering publication and represent the ones you are referring to Jose?
The reason journals have stopped or limited the publication of case reports is that the citation rate is extremely low. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showed that, over a period of 10 years, less than 2% of case reports received 10 or more citations in the first few years. Journals who are assessed by citation data rules are sensitive to this - nobody wants or wishes to publish in a journal with a low impact factor. This may, however, change should open access publishing become more popular.
Pediatric Cardiology and Pediatric Cardiac Surgery require a selective approach.
The management of the adults on heart failure interest, beyond cardiologists, geriatricians, GPs , MDs of Emergent Department, anesthetists, Intenists, reumathologists even cardiac surgeons and the industries favor an extensive approach. All these figures are then involved in the management of the heart failure
A child , or worst, a neonate, with heart failure scares the cardiologist and the pediatricians (the most of, of course) and is quickly addressed to a III level Dept of Pediatric Cardiology; similiar attention reserve the industries.
Moreover the adult world is less complex than the pediatric one
I think that the guidance of the Literature reflets the real life in this case
In order to fill that gap there have been several journals that were created and that publish only case reports, namely BMJ case reports, journal of case reports, journal of medical case reports...