Adult cardiac surgery is definitely changing, and endovascular techniques are becoming more popular. However, in response to these pressures, the field is evolving quickly with the development of progressively more specialized surgeons who are developing innovative operations with less morbidity.
Wholeheartedly posted a sample caselog, which is helpful, but it doesn't really capture the variety that there is!
"Myocardial revasculatrization" is not always an on-pump arrested CABG, though it very often is. There's also MIDCAB, OPCAB (for select patients), total arterial revascularization, bilateral mammaries, sequential grafting, hybrid (MIDCAB: LIMA-LAD followed by PCI to the remaining vessels), etc.
"Acquired valvular heart" includes AVR, aortic valve repair, minimally-invasive AVR, MVreplacement, robotic mitral surgery, port-access mitral surgery, mitral valve repair (complex leaflet work and chordal work), tricuspid repair/replacement, pulmonic valve replacement.
Then there's "Aorta," which might consist of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms, descending thoracic aortic aneurysms, aortic root surgery including valve sparing aortic root replacement, aortic dissections, arch aneurysms, debranching operations, TEVAR, etc.
Under "Other" there's the entire field of heart failure surgery, which includes: ECMO, LVAD, BiVAD, TAH, septal myectomy for HCM, heart transplant, ventricular aneurysms, etc, and arrhythmia surgery, which includes: bilateral VATS modified maze, "Cut-and-Sew" Cox maze, etc.
I think most people will say that general thoracic surgery is doing very well as a field. There is not much that is competing with the congenital heart surgeons, though there aren't many jobs around to begin with.
Keep an open mind to a variety of fields. If you really think it's for you, then you might want to find a faculty mentor at your institution.
