Mortality Risk-It's More Than Simply the Operation.

In this issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, the study by Vodiskar and colleagues 1 Vodiskar J. Mertin J. Heinisch P.P. et al. Impact of extracardiac anomalies on mortality and morbidity in staged single ventricle palliation. Ann Thorac Surg. 2023; 115: 1197-1205 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF Scopus (2) Google Scholar describes the impact of extracardiac anomalies on the outcomes of staged single-ventricle palliation management in a large single-center experience (602 patients) over a 20-year period using linear regression methods. They noted a statistically significant adverse effect of extracardiac anomalies on the outcomes of the second and third stages of surgical palliation, and in the aggregate, only 50% of the patients with extracardiac anomalies were alive after all 3 stages vs 70% of those without extracardiac anomalies. The findings confirm my own impressions and those of most involved in treating single-ventricle patients that noncardiac anomalies have an additive, if not even greater, effect on the risks of surgical treatment of single-ventricle patients. Impact of Extracardiac Anomalies on Mortality and Morbidity in Staged Single Ventricle PalliationThe Annals of Thoracic SurgeryVol. 115Issue 5PreviewThis study was intended to determine the impact of extracardiac anomalies on outcomes in patients with functional single ventricle who underwent staged palliation. Full-Text PDF