Background: Although profound hypothermia with total circulatory arrest(TCA) is a valuable maneuver in cardiac surgery, its applications have been limited due to serious complications, especially cerebral damage. In this study, the possible role of creatinine kinase-BB(CK-BB), an index enzyme of ischemic cerebral damage, was assayed as a parameter for the assessment of the cerebral complications after TCA. Hemoglobin(Hb), ionized calcium(Ca++), and blood glucose levels were also assessed as clinical parameters involved in cerebral damage. Materials and methods: Among patients with congenital heart disease, 18 patients who had been operated on with TCA were randomly selected and divided into two groups: 6 with acyanotic and 12 with cyanotic heart disease. Arterial blood from each patient was collected before and after TCA at scheduled times(15 min., 30 min, 1, 2, 4, 8, and 12hr). The levels of CK-BB, Hb, Ca++, and blood glucose were assessed in each sample. Results: As a whole, correlation between CK-BB level and blood sampling time after TCA was not statistically significant. Also, the difference in the level of CK-BB after TCA was not significant between the acyanotic and cyanotic groups. The levels of Hb and CK-BB correlated significantly. Conclusions: The results, which showed no correlation between the alterations in CK-BB level and the TCA duration, suggest that the single assay of the CK-BB level is not a representative measurement for the assessment of cerebral damage after TCA. Also, the cyanotic congenital heart disease group is not more vulnerable to cerebral damage induced by TCA.